May the circle be unbroken: we are opening up

AS THINGS OPEN UP AFTER A DIFFICULT TIME, LET’S REJOICE—AND BE PATIENT WITH ONE ANOTHER

Sunday Community Supper

By Sarah Bartenstein

Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, Advent, Christmas, Lent, and back around again to Holy Week and Easter… summer offerings like Vacation Bible School, math camp, the icon workshop, and outdoor suppers…Rally Day, Sunday school, youth groups, Thanksgiving Day, the Advent fair, pageants, the indoor market, speakers and retreats, concerts, small groups and so many more cherished seasons, holidays, services, and activities had to be reconfigured, reimagined, or foregone altogether during the pandemic of 2020 and 2021. Some 16 months after our lives changed dramatically, we are finally beginning to emerge from “lockdown” and significant limitations on how, when, and where we can gather.

The vestry, staff, and people of St. Stephen’s Church rose to the occasion in so many ways, finding new forms and delivery methods for worship, prayer, study, and fellowship. Videos; livestreaming; Zoom gatherings; blog posts; take-home kits for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and Lent; notes and telephone calls. We learned to exercise new muscles, and we’re grateful for the efforts of so many, and the patience of all.

At every step of the way, our goal was to keep all God’s children as safe as was in our power to do, while remaining connected to one another and to God. We took guidance from the CDC, from our own medical experts, from our governor (a physician) and from our bishop and diocesan staff, and using metrics from the highly regarded Brown University School of Public Health.

Now, we are grateful that new cases of covid-19 are in the “yellow zone” in our area, and look with eager anticipation toward the day we’ll be in the “green zone,” as more and more people in our region are vaccinated against the virus. Decisions by vestry and staff will continue to take into account public health data— numbers which we hope will continue to trend downward—so even decisions we make now may change in the future.

Given these positive trends, the vestry and staff have adopted the following schedule and protocols for the coming weeks.

SUNDAY WORSHIP INDOORS

We have returned to our traditional summer schedule of Holy Eucharist at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., and the Celtic service at 5:30 p.m., in the church. Compline will return July 4 at 8 p.m. (A reminder: there is no Sunday Forum in the summer.)

Mask-wearing is still required for all. If you’ve been vaccinated, you may wonder why you must wear a mask. Please keep in mind that there are others in the congregation who have health conditions that prevent their being vaccinated or who are immunocompromised. And no one under the age of 12 is able to be vaccinated at this time, and we certainly do not want to exclude children from worship.

Communion will continue to be offered in one kind (bread only).

With these precautions in place, we are able to loosen other requirements. For example, we no longer require sign-up to attend a service, nor are we limiting the number of people attending.

Congregational singing is now permitted—again, with masks firmly in place, covering the nose and mouth.

We know that removing some of these safeguards may cause some in the parish to stay away. We will continue to offer continued on page 21