ECCT Clergy and Lay Leaders Update #26
March 8, 2021
Dear Clergy and Wardens in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut:
Grace to you and peace in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We write to you on the one-year anniversary of living with COVID-19 in Connecticut. We remember well how on Thursday, March 12, 2020, we met with the Standing Committee as our “council of advice” to begin to map out our diocesan response to the emerging pandemic. We vividly recall how the Rev. Peter Walsh, a member of the Standing Committee and Rector of St. Mark’s in New Canaan who would soon offer last rites virtually to one of his parishioners who lay dying from COVID-19 (one of the first Episcopalians in Connecticut to die from the pandemic) said in the Standing Committee meeting: “This pandemic is going to be huge and life changing for us all.” Little did we know how wise and prescient Peter’s words would be. Three days later, on Sunday, March 15, 2020, we would speak with Episcopalians across Connecticut on what was then a somewhat novel digital platform for many called Zoom to discuss what COVID-19 might mean for us. This was followed on March 18, 2020, by our first Wednesday morning Zoom conversation with Wardens and Clergy from across ECCT. Next week, we will mark the 52nd weekly Zoom meeting with wardens and clergy in what has become a new and life-giving community on Wednesday mornings. We thank God for this new community engendered online over the last year, and for the myriad other ways we have been able to stay connected as the Body of Christ in the midst of the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and the ongoing realities of racism, white supremacy, and anti-Black bias in our nation and in our church.
We also give thanks for your leadership in the parishes and worshipping communities of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut over the last year. Your faithfulness, creativity, resilience, and dedication to our Lord and to one another, and to those in your communities, has been inspiring. Through all the changes and challenges we have been through, your never-failing dedication to God’s mission of restoration and reconciliation in the midst of COVID-19 has resulted in a church that is more open, flexible, and adaptive to changing circumstances and realities. For this we praise God.
It appears as if we are entering a new stage in our life together as we continue to live with the realities of COVID-19. Increasing access to vaccines and the decreasing rate of infection in the state of Connecticut offer hope that, in the not too distant future, we will be able to worship together in-person, indoors. We will say more about that below. But before we do, a word about vaccinations is in order.
As we all probably know by now, Governor Lamont has established a schedule for access to vaccinations based on age such that, by the first week in May, everyone 16 years or older in Connecticut will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. We share the Governor’s view that such an age based approach is the simplest and fastest way to make the vaccination available to all in our state. Still, it is undeniable that communities of color and those who have unequal access to health care resources because of the realities of racism and poverty, are underrepresented in groups accessing the COVID-19 vaccine. We in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut must do all in our power to facilitate access to vaccinations, especially in underserved communities. The Toolkit for COVID-19 Vaccinations, developed by the Office of Government Relations of The Episcopal Church, is an excellent resource for facilitating this important ministry of access to vaccines. We commend the Toolkit to you, especially the “10 Actions to Help Get Everyone Vaccinated.”
A word about vaccinations - First, we strongly urge you to get vaccinated yourself once you become eligible. Both of us, upon becoming eligible on March 1, have scheduled our vaccinations and look forward to becoming fully vaccinated in due course. Second, while we are not health professionals and we are careful not to give medical advice, a brief review of how to access vaccinations in Connecticut might be helpful as you seek to get vaccinated yourself and/or encourage those in your care to do likewise.
There are three main paths to securing a COVID-19 vaccination in Connecticut. The first is through registration with the Vaccine Administrative Management System (VAMS). A helpful guide for CT residents to understand and register with VAMS is available online. The second path by which one can access a COVID-19 vaccination is to sign up directly with the two pharmacy chains of Walgreens and CVS by logging directly onto their websites. The third path is through a health care system, such as Yale New Haven Health, Hartford Health Care, Trinity Health Care, etc., with which you might be associated. We suggest checking with the health care system’s online patient portals to access the health care system’s vaccination program. Connecticut's Vaccine Portal includes a search feature which allows you to search for a vaccine site near you with open appointments. The Vaccine Portal also provides information regarding Connecticut's "Schedule by Phone" assistance line.
You may pursue a vaccination appointment through all three paths. When you are attempting to schedule an appointment, it may appear nothing is available. We urge you to keep trying daily. If you do end up securing a vaccination appointment on more than one date, please be sure to cancel the appointment(s) you will not be using in order to make the vaccination available to others. We appreciate that securing a vaccination appointment through any and all of these three paths is a laborious and time consuming exercise at this point. Still we urge you, for your own sake, for the sake of those you love, and for the sake of the community in which you live, to please get vaccinated as soon as possible. And do everything in your power to help others to do the same. Working together there is a good chance that Connecticut can achieve herd immunity to COVID-19 by late August.
In a press release last Thursday, March 4, Governor Lamont announced that in the near future he expects to revise COVID-19 protocols such that, beginning on March 19th, pandemic limits on occupancy will be suspended for restaurants, retail venues, libraries, personal service providers, indoor recreation venues including gyms/fitness centers, museums, offices, and houses of worship. This is a hopeful sign that Connecticut is entering a new phase with respect to COVID-19. We want to underscore two important realities related to this intended “reopening” planned to begin on March 19th. First, as the Hartford Courant emphasized in its lead article last Saturday “100% is not 100%” While the Governor intends to lift all capacity limits in public venues, that does not mean that occupancy will immediately return to pre-COVID-19 levels. In the Governor’s March 4th press release he takes pains to emphasize that while occupancy limits might be suspended, the regular COVID-19 protocols such as face coverings and masks, physical distancing, and sanitizing of hands and surfaces remain in effect. In other words, while public venues will technically not have COVID-19 capacity limits, the number of individuals that can be accommodated will still be limited by the need to keep a 6-foot distance between individuals and or family/social “pods.” This will have implications if/when we resume in-person, indoor worship. See below.
Second, the standards by which the Governor chooses to ease COVID-19 restrictions are not the same standards by which we as the Body of Christ make our decisions. The Governor is seeking to balance public health with economic and business needs in the state. As followers of Jesus we, however, have a different ethical and moral standard by which to live. Our decisions regarding returning to in-person, indoor worship and/or other church gatherings should be measured by how we treat the most vulnerable and the “least of these.” (Matthew 25:31-46) All because the Governor says we can resume in-person, indoor worship without occupancy limits, that does not mean that we should necessarily return to such. We continue to urge you to take the utmost care in any steps to return to in-person, indoor worship, always using care for those who are most at risk as our standard in our decisions.
We suspect, given the Governor’s press release last Thursday and the excitement it has generated to “reopen” Connecticut, you are probably receiving significant pressure to return to in-person, indoor worship. We are sorry this might put you in a difficult position as you seek to do what is right for those who are most vulnerable and at risk in our congregations. We want to be as supportive to you as we can in your leadership at this crucial juncture of our life together. As to whether or not you should return to in-person, indoor worship in these changing COVID-19 circumstances, we continue to emphasize that if your parish is in a town/city that continues to be in the red zone (with an infection rate of more than 15 per 100,000) on the Connecticut “Daily Data Report” it is our pastoral direction that you not hold in-person, indoor worship. “Pastoral direction” here is understood as small “p” small, “d” as in Canon III.9.6(a)(1) related to clergy authority over worship, and not a Pastoral Direction (capital “P”, capital “D”) as in Canon IV.7.1-2 related to Clergy Discipline. Clergy overseeing parishes and worshiping communities are encouraged to consult with their Vestries as to the appropriate decision to make in their context.
If your town/city is no longer in a red zone and you anticipate returning to in-person, indoor worship, we want to underscore that all COVID-19 precautions including the wearing of face coverings and masks, physical distancing, and sanitizing of hands and surfaces be vigorously adhered to. Anyone displaying any symptoms of illness characteristic of COVID-19 should be encouraged to stay home and stay safe. At this stage, we still emphasize that the elements of the Holy Eucharist not be distributed and that spiritual communion, or Morning Prayer/Ante Communion be the principal worship. We do expect to have an updated “Living with COVID-19: Protocols and Directions 3.0” document available before March 19th which will give further details on specifics related to worship as we enter this new phase of our life together in the pandemic.
We understand how difficult it is to be a leader in this time of anxiety and challenge when many in our parishes are eager for release and liberation from the constraints of COVID-19 while we are called to use prudence and caution giving priority to those who are vulnerable and at risk in our communities. In our Clergy Day on February 13th, we heard how many clergy are struggling with loneliness and isolation, even as some in your parishes are aggressively challenging your pastoral leadership and worship decisions at this time. As your bishops we want to be available to you to support you in these difficult circumstances. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at any time.
At the Clergy Day, we further heard that there is a real desire to return to the bi-weekly clergy support group that Dr. Ron Casey hosted before his untimely death on January 1, 2021. Robin Hammeal-Urban, our Canon for Mission Integrity and Training has arranged with Dr. David Olsen and his associate, Erin Belanger LMHC, of Samaritan Counseling Center to resume these biweekly support groups from 10 a.m.-noon on Mondays, beginning on March 8, 2021. In addition, Dr. Olsen has also agreed to be available to all clergy in ECCT for an "urgent situational coaching" session. This session may be followed by one additional session, if needed. Clergy may, of course, seek out Dr. Olsen of their own accord for additional sessions beyond the "urgent coaching session." Contact Dr. Olsen via email at olsen@samaritancounselingcenter.org
Thank you also for the suggestions offered in the Clergy Day regarding the future of the Clergy and Families Assistance Program (CFAP). We are actively pursuing many of your ideas and recommendations as we reconceive CFAP for a new time.
We pray that this penitential season of Lent will be a holy and blessed time for you. As we mark this one year anniversary of living with COVID-19, we trust that on the other side of the cross is the truth, hope, and promise of new life in the Resurrection.
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen (Collect for the Third Sunday in Lent)
Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas
Bishop Diocesan
The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens
Bishop Suffragan
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