This week, the session of St. Mark made some important decisions that will affect the life of our church now and in the future. I’m going to share two of those decisions with you now, one of which is a done deal and the other of which is a work in progress. Next week I will share two other important decisions as well.
First, the done deal: As of August 31, the St. Mark campus will be open for small group meetings, with10 or less people. We are specifically thinking of some of our commissions, forthcoming book groups, and other gatherings. We have a “Faithful Phasing” framework that clearly spells out the expectations that we invite those who gather to agree to, such as not attending if one is feeling unwell, keeping safe distance, and wearing masks. Our framework also invites meeting conveners to keep a zoom component to meetings, so that those who are not able or comfortable attending meetings in person can still participate. Each meeting will have a convener and the Faithful Phasing framework will be sent to each convener who will be responsible for ensuring that they are followed. It all sounds very cautious, because our goal is to ensure that the most vulnerable person is able to participate fully in the life of the church.
If your commission or small group wishes to gather in person beginning August 31, you start by contacting the church office and scheduling the meeting with Sue-Ann Wichman.[1] The Church Office Staff will ensure that there is hand sanitizer available for each meeting, that you have a restroom available, and that the space will be sanitized before and after your meeting. Finally, we encourage groups to meet outdoors if they are able and have obtained shade umbrellas to make that feasible.
Next, the work in process. We have a Faithful Phasing Team that meets every Tuesday morning, keeping an eye on how the numbers are trending in Orange County, what the State mandates and allows, as well as collecting resources about best practices for gatherings, worship, and so forth. The Session has set a process so that when the Faithful Phasing Team sees a three-week decline in important trend numbers, we can make a recommendation to initiate outdoor, in person worship gatherings. We have not set a date yet. We have set the process for making that decision and, meanwhile, the Worship Commission is working on how we plan to approach worship when that time comes. Even when we begin in person, outdoor worship, we will continue to have an online service for those who are not able or ready to begin gathering in person.
In the meantime, the Membership Commission has put together a brief survey so you can let us know how you feel about our worship services going forward. The results of the survey will be collected and anonymous, so you are invited to be as candid as possible. Click here for a link to the survey.
Finally, we know that the world is facing many challenges today, some far more severe than the question of when we can gather in person. There are fires in the west, storms in the east, and again we have witnessed an act of Police violence against an unarmed African American. Our call to pursue racial justice, and to begin by examining our own participation in systemic racism, is as important as ever. To provide a way for us, the Adult Discipleship and Nurture Commission will be starting a 4-week book discussion group on Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility starting in the first weeks of September. We will do our best to accommodate a range of schedules and hope that this will provide a congregation-wide opportunity to concretely engage on issues of race and racism. We only ask that you come with open hearts and a willingness to be challenged. Please email SueJeanne Koh-Parsons at suejeanne.koh@gmail.com if you are interested in participating or have any questions.
Mark of St. Mark
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