A welcoming community of faith practicing and preaching the love of Jesus
September 17, 2020
Dear All Saints Family and Friends,
We’re pleased to announce that we are able to initiate our Phase I reopening of the All Saints campus!
This initial opening will involve 1) outdoor activities of up to 50 people for an hour for worship, learning, and fellowship, and 2) pilgrimage activities, which involve small groups of 10 or less people gathering in the sanctuary for up to 30 minutes.
Whether we meet outdoors or in the Sanctuary, we will be adhering to strict social distancing protocols. Here’s a summary of what’s involved:
• We’ll be using a reservation system to insure that we do not exceed the maximum amount of participants in any event. You’ll be receiving regularly Signup Genius invitations via email to make reservations. Those who find it too difficult to use the online signup system will be able to contact the office to make reservations. Should our number of reservations requests exceed our capacity limits, please know you will be put on a waiting list, but also prioritized for attendance at the next event.
• Masks must be worn while attending any event. We realize this can be uncomfortable for some, but if you are not able to wear a mask, please continue to take advantage of our virtual offerings. Masks are required for all in-person events. We will have masks available, should you forget to bring your own.
• We’ll be maintaining social distancing. This means staying at least 6 feet apart from anyone who is not a household/family member, as we enter/exit our the location of our events, as well as while we stay in place. Social distancing helps to keep everyone safe.
• The Eucharist is not yet available in any form at this time. We will keep you informed as this changes in the future.
• Printed materials will not be available. Please pre-print your bulletin or bring your own Book of Common prayer to worship. And know you are welcome to contact us at All Saints, if you’d like to borrow a BCP.
• There’s no singing at this time, but depending on the event, we may have organ or keyboard music.
• There are no processions or passing the offering plate. Again, we’re trying to avoid chances of spreading the virus.
• There will be no food, no nursery, no hugging, nor physical contact for greetings or passing the Peace. We do know this is hard, but we’re striving to keep our community healthy. Please refrain from contact with anyone who is not a household/family member.
• Hand Sanitizer stations will be available for use at entry and exits to our events.
• We’ll be working on one-way walking traffic flow wherever possible to help us avoid crossing paths. Plan to arrive early for our events and be patient when it’s time to leave, as we provide directions on how to exit safely.
• Restrooms are available (in Parish Hall) for emergency use only. Should you need to use the restroom, please insure only a single person or same family/household is in the restroom at one time.
For outdoor activities, we’ll be encouraging our attendees to bring their own outdoor chairs (or blankets, if you prefer to sit together on the lawn as a family), as it will decrease significantly the amount of sanitizing work required after the event. For those who want to attend, but cannot physically manage carrying an outdoor chair, please indicate your need on your reservation, so we can be prepared in advance to accommodate you.
Our First two Outdoor activities will be on the lawn in front of the Parish Hall:
Sunday, September 27 - Evening Prayer, 4:30 pm
Sunday, October 4 - St. Francis Day Blessing of the Animals, 4:30 pm
Our initial Pilgrimage activities in the Sanctuary:
Watch for additional news about this new offering, in upcoming emails from Mother Bonnie.
We do ask that If you are not feeling well, or are running a fever, or have recently been exposed to the COVID-19 coronavirus, please do stay home.Our online worship activities are continuing and we would love for you to join us there. Do keep in mind that our primary objective is to act in love towards one another by keeping our most vulnerable safe.
We realize some may be disappointed that this is not a return to normal. Yet we are pleased with this new beginning, knowing that as we gather with great intentionality we are living into caring deeply for one another. As Christians, we challenge ourselves and the world to love like Jesus, as we worship joyfully, serve compassionately, and grow spiritually. With these precautionary reopening plans, we are doing exactly that — showing our love for one another by doing all we can to keep the wider community safe in these challenging times.
