Beloved of God,

A number of people in our congregation have tested positive for COVID in the past week. We want to gently encourage people to take appropriate precautions for themselves during this summer uptick in COVID cases.

First and foremost, please make sure that you are up-to-date on your COVID vaccinations. It's easy to allow a year or more to go by without getting the next one.

We also encourage you to consider wearing a mask at church for the next couple of weeks, but masks are not required. If you have any symptoms that may be COVID, please test and be cautious around others. Many are reporting "the sniffles" and that their symptoms seem like “just a cold" or "allergies" only to find out that they are actually positive for COVID.

If you know that you’ve had close contact with someone who is COVID positive, please be careful around others and monitor yourself over the next 4-5 days to see if you test positive.

Wearing a mask in public is never a bad idea even though we may not enjoy doing so, it can keep us and others safe.

If you or someone you know tests positive, the current CDC guidelines are to isolate for at least five days after testing positive, and then to wear a mask for another five days while venturing out into public spaces (5 days of isolation, then 5 days of masking in public = 10 total days after testing positive).

Together, with a little loving care and awareness of our own health, we can keep one another safe,

--The Clergy & Staff of St. Mark's