Dear People of Annunciation,
I begin by wishing you all a Happy New Year! I hope that everyone has enjoyed a wonderful Christmastide. If you find yourself traveling home after visiting family up north, or if you are one of our “Northern Lights” headed down to escape the depths of winter, I wish you save travels. (As I write this, New York 1 News, which is on our cable system here, is reporting on all the snow in the city this Friday morning. I am about to go walk the dog wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts!)
While we look forward to the new year with hope, some of the challenges of the past two persist. After COVID cases in Manatee County subsided from last summer’s highs in November, the Omicron variant has caused Manatee County to return to being an area of high transmission. Both SRQ and TPA airports are reporting record amounts of traffic. This includes travelers from beyond the United States and Canada. Anecdotally, we have had visitors at our services at Annunciation from the United Kingdom and Sweden in recent weeks.
From my own social circle, I am aware of far more people who are being infected with the coronavirus now than at any point since the beginning of the pandemic. Because clergy comprise a significant part of that circle, I know many were exposed at church-related functions. Thankfully, most of those I know have been vaccinated and received an additional dose or booster jab, and their symptoms are mild. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to do so.
I hope we are moving toward a not-too-distant future where the COVID shifts from pandemic to endemic. With new treatments coming online, as well as further vaccine developments, I look forward to a point where this disease is managed and controlled like other public health challenges. Unfortunately, we are not there yet.
Yesterday (January 6), Bishop Smith issued a letter of pastoral guidance to rectors, vicars, and priests-in-charge in the diocese regarding that we observe safety precautions during the Omicron surge. A copy of that letter will be printed in the bulletin this Sunday.
Our bishop has asked that for the health and safety of the community that we wear masks, especially for indoor worship and for singing. We have a supply of masks available in the Nave. I know most of us are making up voluntarily. I ask that we continue to do so for the time being.
Bishop Smith also requests that we continue to observe safe physical distancing and to distribute Holy Communion in One Kind only from standing stations, practices that we have been observing since the beginning of the pandemic.
I know this has been a long and difficult journey for all of us. The good news is that we are far more adept at dealing with this than we were in March 2020. While the pandemic has been a lesson in humility, my hope is that the new year brings change and opportunity.
Christ’s peace,
Matthew+
