March 13 2020
Dear Grace,
I know that some of you are worried about the Coronavirus outbreak. You have asked about how the church is preparing in case the virus becomes more widespread.
Public Health officials are encouraging us to remain calm, while taking simple steps to slow the spread of the virus. This is to protect those who are most vulnerable and make sure that hospitals have the greatest capacity to care for those who are ill.
When our region has freezing rain or snow, sometimes we cancel a public worship. Other times, we decide to go ahead. Always, we encourage you to remember that you are a beloved child of God and to decide for yourself whether now is a good time for you to participate in a public worship service. On a day with freezing rain, a young person who lives in walking distance to church might decide to go to church. An elderly person whose doctor has advised to be careful about falls might decide to stay home and have a time of personal prayer. It is the same with the risk of illness. You may decide that for you the best decision is to remain home. You may decide to come to a public worship service but to keep a physical distance from others. The church respects and honours those decisions.
As a church, we do not need to panic, but it is important to be prepared. I want all of you to be informed about what we are doing and planning. The following letter shares some actions that I and the council have agreed would be helpful.
Plans for Now
Pie Day
- The Pie Day Event will go ahead as planned on Saturday March 14th. As an extra precaution, we will have servers to prepare the food rather than our usual buffet style. The servers will wash their hands and use hand sanitizer. They will use serving utensils to place the pie directly on to your plate. If you are more comfortable, you are welcome to bring your own food from home.
- Please ask before sitting right beside someone to watch the movie. If they prefer to maintain a physical distance from others, please respect their choice. Please also refrain from crowding the food table.
- We ask that you avoid hugs and handshakes.
Worship Practices
- Please make your own decision about how comfortable you are participating in public worship. If you are concerned about health and decide to stay home, let us know so that we can stay in touch with you by phone.
- We will not be passing the offering plates. If you have a donation, you can leave it in the bowl at the front before or after church.
- Communion (on March 22nd) will be served in individual glasses, and the bread will be distributed by the servers using tongs. The servers will also use hand sanitizer. Please feel free to refrain from receiving the elements if you would prefer.
- We ask you to stay home if you are feeling ill. Let us know so that we can stay in touch!
Building Practices
- We will have lots of soap available in the washrooms. If the soap ever runs out, please let someone know. There is more soap in the cleaning cabinets.
- We encourage you to practice frequent handwashing, especially before and after coffee hour.
- Please ask before sitting right beside someone. Some people will prefer to avoid close contact.
- Please save hugs and handshakes for another day.
- We will have coffee hour this week, but please feel free to bring your own food or drink if you prefer. Please avoid congregating near the table.
Communications
- We have a robocall system with which we can contact people in case of a last minute change in plans. If church services were ever put on hold, we would use this system. If you are not sure whether you currently receive notifications, please contact Sonya at for.grace.16@gmail.com.
- If worship services are put on hold in the future, we would host online worship services by the app Zoom. If you would like help installing Zoom on your computer, please let Natalie know.
- Churches are important social institutions. If there were ever wide spread quarantines, the church can check in on folks to make sure they are ok. Churches can also provide phone calls or skype sessions to those who are living alone and may feel lonely stuck at home. I would like a team of people who could be ready to help with this phone ministry if needed. Please contact Natalie (819-593-1112) if you’d like to be part of this.
If COVID-19 Spreads in our Region
- In this case, we would put coffee hour on hold.
- We would encourage people to sit farther apart at church.
- We would have an online option for church services.
- We will comply with any direction from Public Health officials to not gather in person.
If the COVID-19 Virus is Widely Transmitted
- We would place in-person church on hold and have online services.
- We would all work together as a community to check on others by telephone and email. This is to make sure that others are ok, and also to reduce potential loneliness.
- If Rev. Natalie were to be ill and unavailable, you could reach church administrator Sonya Armstrong (for.grace.16@gmail.com). You could also reach chair of council Larry Seguin (819-663-8969)
If you would like to talk further about any of this, please feel free to contact me at 819-593-1112. The United Church of Canada also has a preparedness plan here: https://www.united-church.ca/sites/default/files/emergency-plan.pdf
I ask you to keep those who are ill in your prayers. A time of anxiety is also a good time to continue our challenge of the week: praying the Lord’s prayer each day.
No freezing rain, snow or virus can separate us from the love of God. We remember the words of the apostle Paul (Romans 8:38-39). 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a]neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
With love,
Natalie