7/28/21


Dear Members of the Clergy in the Diocese of Central PA and leaders of parishes without clergy,
 
The CDC announced revised guidelines for mask wearing on Tuesday, July 27th that could affect our worship practices in the days and weeks to come.
 
The new CDC guidance is that to maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, those who are fully vaccinated should wear a mask indoors when in areas of substantial or high transmission. To discover what level of transmission is present in the county in which your parish is located, please follow this link: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view 
 
The recommendation remains that those who are not vaccinated should wear a mask, also.
 
The thresholds for gathering safely in this time (<25 cases per 100,000 and 5% or less positivity rate) continue to apply in our diocese, as well. The chart for these figures is updated weekly and can be found on the at the following link https://diocesecpa.org/parish-news/coronavirus-facts-precautions-and-prayers/


It is my prayer that our congregations will remain safe in this time. I hope that all those who are eligible and for whom it is not a risk will be vaccinated. Vaccinations are the key to getting the Covid-19 virus and its variants under control.
 
Please call the diocesan office and speak to Canons Chad Linder, Dan Morrow or Alexis Guszick if you need assistance in determining the plan forward for your church.
 
In the Way of Love,
and
The Task Force for Operations
Ms. Elaine Austin, St. Thomas, Lancaster
Ms. Barbara Cross, St. John’s, Carlisle
Ms. Alexis Guszick, Canon for Communications and Events
Mr. Chad Linder, Canon for Finance and Operations
Mr. William Lord, St. John’s, Carlisle
The Rev. Canon Dan Morrow, Canon for Congregational Life and Mission
The Rev. Jeff Packard, St. Andrew’s, State College
 
Consulting Physician: Dr. Pamela Vnenchak, St. Thomas, Lancaster
101 Pine Street, P.O. Box 11937, Harrisburg, PA 17108 + 717-236-5959 + fax 717-236-6448 + www.diocesecpa.org