Vestry Resolution passed by unanimous consent, May 26, 2020 Trinity Episcopal Church, Toledo Ohio Response to “Phased Return to In-Person Parish Life for the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.”
Be it resolved, the leadership of Trinity (Vestry, Staff and clergy) is appreciative of the work done in crafting the recently received “Phased Return to In-Person Parish Life for the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.” We also want to express our gratitude for the intentionality and sensitivity of the document providing clear parameters for a phased-in approach as well as the recognition of the “complex, contextual and pastoral decisions about [each] parish’s particular adoption of these guidelines…made in collaborative consultation between elected lay leaders and clergy.” With a shared commitment to our common good, we have discerned at this time, for the reasons listed below, to remain in Phase 1 (Suspension of In-Person Worship) through September 2020. Prior to the end of September, the clergy, staff and lay leadership will gather again to revisit this decision and take the next steps to determine how best to respond and proceed.
Between now and then: -We remain committed to offering “progressive, inclusive and creative” worship. -We remain committed to seeking out ways to connect and support our membership both on-line and through other channels. -We remain committed to discovering new and expansive ways to be of service to our community and the greater Toledo area. -We remain committed to developing a number of new expressions of our newly founded “Trinity@Home” Christian Formation opportunities as “we live, serve, love and grow outside the box”. -We remain committed to supporting our staff and their safety as they continue to serve and work outside of the building coming into the building only as essential and through a coordinated schedule. Our rationale for this decision includes the following: 1. We believe we have a moral responsibility to exercise extreme caution and safety for us, our physical location downtown and our diverse population, and believe staying physically apart is the most prudent decision. 2. Offering our current worship service on-line affords us the greatest amount of participation and inclusion of current membership and new member engagement. 3. We have already reached unanticipated numbers of new participants and intend to foster many of those new relationships. 4. Staying physically apart and offering pre-recorded services allows us ways to be spiritually connected as well as able to continue offering music in our services. 5. This time away from the building has jettisoned us into a season of creativity and discovery cultivating new energy for what it means to “be the church in the world”. 6. We are taking advantage of an empty worship space to engage much needed issues of deferred maintenance. 7. As a downtown community with regular walk-in participation, we are unable to ensure the Phase II requirements of mandatory social distancing, cleaning, no-contact etc.