Announcement from Fr. Ted -
To the Trinity Church community,
I am happy to report that we have a confirmed plan for return to worship on church premises, unanimously approved by the vestry this past weekend and as of today, approved by the Bishop as well. I also want to share with you that Pastor Sabrina has been hard at work with Natalee Hill and the Children and Youth Committee to develop fall programming for children and youth. That plan also needs to be approved by the Bishop, so it would be premature to confirm details here. But plans for junior high, high school, and confirmation are well underway, as well as for younger children. Parents with children or youth at home will receive additional communication, with details. As for worship, the summary of the approved schedule is at the bottom of this message.
We worked hard to come up with a plan which is feasible, meets as many different desires as possible, and also shares the sacrifices of what we are all going through together. You will notice, for instance, that we have needed to go from three services to two, and that in doing so, the 9:15 and 11am-style services will continue to alternate on Sundays, now at 10am. It just proved too much to try to do all three services with the need for cleaning and sanitizing, not to mention managing the flow of people safely. The approved plan will allow 8am regulars, who of the three congregations surveyed as "least satisfied" with worship by Zoom, to have a service every week at that time. But that 8am service will alternate between Rite I and Rite II forms of Holy Eucharist, allowing those who deeply prefer a Book of Common Prayer liturgy an alternative on Sundays when the 10am service takes on the style of the former 9:15am liturgy. Pastor Sabrina and I are also thinking how to make a traditional liturgy a bit more relatable for younger children, at least on special days.
Please note that there will be no in-person worship on site for regular attendance this Sunday, Sept. 13. We will begin to have worship on site in very limited fashion on Sept. 20, at 8 am only. I will write again with more details on how we will organize and sign up to attend a service. That is one of the next tasks.
Please understand that this return to worship on site depends on each one of us being responsible with our choices. There will be requirements for attending, such as masks and physical distancing. Further, IF YOU FEEL SICK, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND WORSHIP ON SITE. And if you feel uncomfortable with the possibility of being in a room with others who might be sick, please take that sense of unease as a signal that now may not be the time for you to return to worship on site. We are doing this so that those who want it or even need it and feel ready for it, can have it—not to suggest that everyone should now come back to the premises for worship. Allowing us all to be in community whether in person or physically apart is why the vestry invested in a significant upgrade to audiovisual capability in the sanctuary.
On a final note, many thanks to all those who have worked with me either to make worship happen all this time, or to think and pray with me about how we might return to our common space, or both. And thanks to the members of this community for your faithful perseverance in difficult times. We have been stronger as we have found strength in one another in the Spirit of Christ, and I am grateful for that.
Here’s the schedule for the next several Sundays, beginning Sept. 20.
Peace and blessings,
Ted+
Schedule and Limits for Return to Common-Space Worship on Sundays, beginning
Sept. 20
- 8am service in Chancel, 14 max (10 in choir seating, 2 clergy either side of altar, 2 ushers at entrances), no Zoom
- 10am service in Nave, Zoom only (no worshipers beyond essential persons)
Sept. 27
- 8am service in Chancel, 14 max, no Zoom
- 10am service in Nave, 32 max (28 in Nave pews, 2 clergy at altar, 2 ushers at entrances), carried by Zoom
Oct. 4
- 8am service in Chancel, 14 max, no Zoom
- 10am service outdoors, Blessing of the Animals, (limit TBD with physical spacing), carried by Zoom
Oct. 11 and following
- 8am service in Chancel, 14 max, no Zoom
-
10 am service in Nave for 32 max in Nave Expandable to 42 max Chancel and Nave seating after Oct. 11, if shared spaces can be cleaned and sanitized.
