Dear All Souls,
Omicron is surging through Indiana, filling every hospital and ICU bed available. The medical workers who care for us when we are sick and injured simply cannot meet the crushing need for medical care during this surge.
This surge has also returned an overwhelming burden of care to parents of school-age children as schools either close or remain open and reinfect their children. Our most vulnerable neighbors with children face such unfair and overwhelming burdens in a time like this.
So in response to the increased risks of transmitting a COVID infection and to be in solidarity with our medical workers and our most vulnerable neighbors, Sunday Worship Services at All Souls will be Zoom-only for the rest of January. Worship services will continue to begin at 10:30 and be followed by a zoom coffee-hour.
All Souls will continue, however, to schedule in-person small-group meetings of 10 or fewer people. All Souls practices and its use of filtration and air-exchange equipment meets scientifically-based best-practices for COVID safety (and thank you for your pledges that make this possible). So the COVID Safety Team and I prefer that those of us who want to meet in-person come to church rather than meet in homes or businesses with inadequate practices and equipment. (note that masks will always be required – covenanting to remove them is suspended for this month).
This is a hardship for us – and especially burdensome with so many of our neighboring faiths failing share this hardship with us and other religious groups that do mask and do go virtual when common decency calls for it. I am grateful to you, the people of All Souls, for your commitments to do the right thing, especially when it’s difficult.
Rev. Joel
