Hi folks,
These are challenging days. The information and advice about how to protect and care for our community changes by the day, it seems. Yesterday afternoon
I got a call to alert me that Spain has been moved up to a Level 3 country affected by COVID-19. Both the CDC and the NH Health Department are advising travelers from these places in the last 14 days should self-quarantine for 14 days. I returned from Spain on 3/5, so Brewster called me to advise that quarantine for the remaining 6 days, until 3/19.
It’s important to know that I am
not
showing any symptoms of the virus— I feel absolutely fine, and I do
not
have a fever, or any other symptom of a cold or flu. That said, I am not prepared to take on the liability of going against the advice of the CDC or the NH Health Department. I cannot go backward… I was at church last Sunday, and though I have seen a minimal number of people this week, and I have been very cautious about hand-washing, it’s concerning. I am sorry. And, obviously, I cannot be at church on Sunday.
I talked with our Conference Minister, Gordon Rankin, who shared that it is his intention to send word to New Hampshire churches on Tuesday that he strongly urges all of us to suspend worship through the end of March, at least. Churches in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut have already been encouraged to take this step.
Bringing all of this advice to Church Council, and offering a few options about how we might get through tomorrow morning without me, we all agreed the better part of wisdom is
simply to suspend worship through the end of March
.
This also means that we will cancel the New Members Class, and any other committees or groups that were gathering on Sundays.
This was a difficult decision, to say the least.
For tomorrow, I encourage you to take advantage of beautifully early spring weather and get some time outside, worshipping in whatever way feeds your soul--- with a Lenten spirit of prayerful attention. And, I'll offer you this hopeful read, a quick article about the perseverance of the human spirit in Italy, amidst this pandemic.
Click here
.
In the upcoming weeks, I will get creative about sending a video message, also trying to get something current up on Wolfeboro Community TV, as I know many of our folks are not computer savvy.
E-Giving was already on my priority list for this year, but it just jumped to the top of the list. I am assessing some options, and I need to coordinate with our finance team, but we are working on it.
Some of you will be relieved to read this email, as you have reached out to me urging and asking me to suspend worship. Some of you will think we are being over-cautious, as you have told me already. Again, this decision has not been made lightly. We will simply need to see how the next weeks unfold. The biggest lesson of these days, are that things change quickly.
Our efforts to partner those most vulnerable with some of our less-at-risk folks to do errands, groceries, etc seems to be working. We have also started matching "phone partners". People who agree to "visit by phone" once a day to combat the isolation and loneliness that is surely on the rise. Happy to put you on that list too! Be in touch.
Please take care of yourself, I will be in touch again soon.
Blessings,
Pastor Gina
(207) 239-7796
