Greetings Beloved,
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord! I pray that you and your loved ones remain safe, sheltered in place and being mindful of others.
On Monday, May 18, Governor Baker unveiled a reopening plan including places of worship on May 25. (http://www.mma.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Places-of-Worship_Circular-Checklist_Eng.pdf) Our Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar said that there will be no in person worship or meetings through the end of May. (http://neumcemail.brtapp.com/files/fileshare/covid+19/relaunch+guidelines+neac+addendum+3.0.pdf) The earliest a UMC sanctuary can open is June 1. “Just because we can legally reopen a sanctuary for worship does not necessarily mean that we should right away. Remember that there will be severe restrictions on what you need to do in order to maintain safety for in-person worship (including social distancing, mask wearing, no singing, etc.) that may deem it not worth the effort right now.” (DS, Stowe).
Dear friends, the questions of “when and how” do we re-open worship in our physical presence are being asked. Yes, as we hope for the lessening of death, sickness, depression, and fear caused by COVID-19, some people are ready to re-open. It will be challenging to follow guidance on re-entering. For this reason we have formed a Church Re-entry Committee. Our Re-entry Team will provide information and guidance on how to specifically apply safety recommendations to our church. Overall, we will be mindful of the governor, and align with public health directives as well as of our conference guidelines. Our concern and caution center on keeping people safe, which may consist of slow, methodical steps needed to be in place to ensure proper distancing, cleaning of buildings, protocols for masks, screening, etc. As a result, we do not expect to reopen the church for Sunday services before June 21. I welcome your input. Soon you will receive a Survey Monkey which is a tool that will allow you to submit your own feelings, thoughts, and ideas about returning to church.
God works in pandemics! We are seeing missional opportunities, such as continuing online worship even when we reopen the church for people who cannot be present physically. Personally, I have made a conscious choice to do virtual communion on June 7 as a spiritual discipline. We will celebrate Pentecost Sunday on May 31. Our conference provided materials for this Sunday. I will rearrange the service with the sermon of our Bishop Devardar’s Pentecostal message.
Before I close, I want to take a moment to commend you for honoring Jesus Christ through your giving, online attendance, and ongoing ministry. You have been wonderfully faithful in giving through electronic means as well as through the mail. A heartfelt thanks, especially to all the Sunday school teachers, our Youth Director Courtney Till and Youth Leader Linda Keefer and worship leaders for their dedication. Thank you for praying for our church, and my family. I look forward to the day when I see you face to face, but until then, count on my prayers for you and your family. You will be informed soon on our concrete plan for reopening.
In Christ,
Your pastor, Seok-Hwan
