Dear Congregation,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As we head into Fall, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to loom in our nation and local Bay Area. Since I last emailed you, the numbers in our state have fallen or flattened, counties have followed a color-tier system, and San Francisco has begun to open more indoor venues.
Our Directors, Pastors, and Elders have continued to meet to monitor and discuss these movements. In short, we have decided to continue our policy of not meeting in person for worship, fellowship, and ministries through October 25th.
However, with San Francisco county moving into the orange tier, we have initiated a review of our protocols and are revisiting the conversation of reopening for indoor services. Today, the city released guidelines approving larger indoor religious gatherings. However, we will wait before reopening so that we can:
Review the city’s and our protocols
Secure the proper personnel and volunteers to follow the protocol
Survey the congregation again
Communicate properly with ministries, volunteers, and congregants
Update our equipment to follow the protocols
Please fill out our new survey here: https://forms.gle/SbKsX5C5kCzy1Ezg6. While you may have filled our survey before, we realize that information regarding the virus has changed, and accordingly, our perceptions may have changed. This new survey will help us to gauge actual interest in attending in-person worship in light of new information.
I appreciate your patience, support, and mindfulness as we tackle a complex issue with changing requirements and dates. And as we approach a potential reopening, we will communicate with you if we establish a target date and will present our protocols. As I have stated before, there is no expectation that in-person attendance is required for membership or any other purpose, as we all have various risk factors to consider for in-person gatherings. We will continue the livestream worship service for the long term.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.
Grace be with you!
Rev. Kevin Wong