Last night, Bishop Field ordained Lynda Hurt and Isaac Petty to the Sacred Order of Deacons. It was such a joyful service! If you missed it, feel free to watch it on our YouTube channel here at your convenience.

It is with joy that I announce that the Bishop has assigned Deacon Lynda Hurt to St. Mary's Church. Please pray for Deacon Lynda as she gets settled in over the coming weeks. There is so much work to be done for the most vulnerable in our parish community and beyond, and I'm excited to see how God will use Deacon Lynda's gifts and skills to serve those most in need in our midst.

Finally, Kansas City's mayor has updated public health guidelines to help stem the spread of coronavirus in the area (click here for the new guidance, and here for the FAQs). Regularly scheduled church services are exempt from the new order, provided that masks and social distancing requirements are maintained. We will continue to be stricter with our safety protocols than the public health guidance requires to ensure everyone's safety, and we will continue to livestream services so that everyone has the option of worshipping from home. I'll provide more detail in the regular newsletter later in the week, but in the meantime, I ask you to prayerfully consider your family holiday plans in light of the new guidance. It seems that coronavirus is now being spread primarily through relatively small gatherings of people from multiple households in private homes. It's one thing to socially distance and wear masks for an hour at St. Mary's, but in the case of my own extended family, I can't imagine a safe way for us to gather for Thanksgiving dinner this year. We are praying for a warm Thanksgiving day that might permit a brief, socially-distanced porch visit with my parents.

Please stay safe, and please take a moment to give thanks to God for the two newest deacons in the Church!

Peace,

Fr. Charles