News 03/16/2020

Dear Colleagues,

We’ve begun to receive inquiries in the conference office relative to the efficacy of holding public worship services during what has now been declared a pandemic involving the Corona virus.

 

Last night, the NBA suspended their season. The NCAA March Madness tournament games will take place in empty arenas. The President announced travel restrictions for people coming from Europe. In addition to these very public actions, there is no shortage of personal opinions about whether we should be taking all of this seriously or shrugging it off as an overreaction to a scare that should not be a scare.

 

As for me, I am paying attention to the science and the medical community. They assure us this is a for-real-crisis that cannot be dismissed as mere hype. So the question is a fair one: should houses of worship gather their congregations during a time when many other public entities are encouraging what for me is a new concept, ‘social distancing’. I’ve begun encouraging our regional ministers to work from home and not visit churches unless critically necessary. I’ve asked them to use Zoom and other means to meet electronically and to avoid the potential of inadvertently carrying the virus from one church house to another through their meetings and attendance at church gatherings. That’s what we can do from here.

 

As for local churches, I have begun to respond as someone did on social media saying, “I’ve never pastored through a pandemic before; I’m doing the best that I can.” Humor aside, my best advice to each of our churches is to be in touch with your county health department to get their guidance on whether large groups should be gathering at this time. The response is likely to be different in different parts of the state and I am reticent about suggesting a uniform answer to all our churches.

 

If you do choose to meet, and I suspect many or even most will, I suggest following the latest guidelines published by the CDC and the common sense offerings in this bulletin insert offered to us from the national setting of the United Church of Christ.

 

https://www.uccfiles.com/pdf/Coronavirus-and-the-Church-Bulletin.pdf 

 

Friends, it’s an interesting time, to say the least. Today, I give thanks for your ministry while thinking especially of our Chaplains, many of whom serve among our most vulnerable population. Please keep them in your prayers even as we bind ourselves to one another in walking through this crisis together. I’ve little doubt, personally, that things will get worse before they get better but I have utmost confidence in the God of creativity and healing and am assured by scriptures that while weeping may linger in the night, joy comes in the morning.

 

The situation around the Corona virus changes from moment to moment and new realities may well dictate fresh responses. Let’s keep communicating with one another in the name of our God whose love remains steady in the midst of it all.

 

For more news from the national setting on this topic, here’s a link:
https://www.ucc.org/news_ucc_churches_establish_protocols_preach_awareness_not_panic_as_covid_19_cases_grow_03102020 

 

Be at peace, and be in touch, won’t you.

John Vertigan, Conference Minister, Florida Conference UCC

www.uccfla.org  386-868-5530 office

 

This ministry is made possible by your support of Local Church Basic Support and Friends of the Conference.