Congregational Update September 2020

Dear Congregation and Friends,

May God’s grace be with you.

As we enter September, I realize that we have not met in person for quite a long time, so I appreciate your patience and understanding .  While our local governments and scientists know more about the COVID-19, there is still much that is unknown.

Bottom line:   Our leadership has decided we will not meet for in person worships, Sunday Schools, ministries, and ministry meetings through September 27th.

Background:

  • Since my last email, our leadership has been meeting regarding the changing standards.  At the beginning of summer, we saw various counties open various businesses and at different rates.  Afterwards, the state created a watch/monitor list, and since last week, the Governor released a color coded tier system.  Schools have generally not opened and many counties still face differing times for opening indoor and outdoor operations.

  • Our team has been following these changes and discussing these changes.

  • In the past, the Governor has implemented his lists and tiers and left discretion to the counties for slowing down re-openings even when they meet the requirements for their various tiers.

  • San Francisco County has taken the state mandates and has generally applied stricter and slower timelines for re-openings.

  • We anticipate slower timelines, as Mayor London Breed has outlined in her press conference on September 1st with a goal of allowing places of worship to open with very limited capacity at the end of September.  We will progress as we have the last few months with an eye toward San Francisco’s timelines when they release them.  We have and will continue to comply with the local health guidelines.

  • We will continue to monitor the situation and communicate any changes.  We also want to take the opportunity to let you know that staff is planning Thanksgiving and Christmas, anticipating the present restrictions in place.  This gives the staff more freedom in planning, though we will communicate changes as they arise.

If you have any questions, concerns, or prayer requests, please communicate with our staff as we would like to care for our congregation through a difficult and unique situation.

Rev. Kevin Wong

Senior Pastor