Pastoral Letter II - 14 March 2020

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

Dear Good Shepherd Church,

I greet you in the Name of and in the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Just a quick note about Sunday services at GSC. YES, we will hold them. Of course, as stated in my pastoral letter from Thursday, March 12, there will be some modifications to practices. And to reiterate, if you are not well, DO NOT COME TO CHURCH. Additionally, if you are in a high-risk group and feel uncomfortable about attending worship, you should not attend worship. (As a reminder, if you are in a high risk group, please speak to your doctor as there may be other lifestyle modifications that you should be considering that have not even crossed your mind.)

What is the purpose of this communication?

The purpose of this communication is to notify you that in the face of the current challenge, Good Shepherd Church will continue to minister to God’s people. As such, I want to make everyone aware of additional options for worship.

You may ask: Additional options for worship?
Yes. Additional options for worship.

When will services be held tomorrow?

Tomorrow, March 15, Good Shepherd Church will hold services at 8:30 AM, 10:00 AM, and 2:00 PM.

Why additional services?

One of the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is the practice of social distancing. What social distancing entails is having folks who have no obvious need for isolation, continue to gather but do so practicing healthy space boundaries. By keeping an adequate distance from each other in group gatherings, unseen risks can be minimized. The recommended distance is approximately 6 feet.

By adding services, we are able to offer the opportunity for continued in-person worship for otherwise healthy individuals, but with the chance to spread people out a bit within the worship space.

Please be aware that regardless of which service you choose to attend at Good Shepherd Church, ushers will be on hand to assist congregants in appropriately spacing themselves throughout the sanctuary. I would ask your cooperation and appreciation of this in advance and that you be understanding if you are asked to move a bit away from what you may consider “your seat” in church.

Our 10:00 AM Sunday morning service is by far our most well attended of established services.  Some who regularly attend that service may wish to consider our established 8:30 AM service.  This service is usually attended by only a handful of parishioners.  Some may also wish to consider attending the new option of our 2:00 PM service.  Again, by spreading out our parishioners across more services, we will have smaller groups worshipping together allowing for a better utilization of our worship space.

In conclusion, a thank you.

In conclusion, I want to offer a heartfelt thank you to Mel Aucoin, Margaret Aucoin, and Bob Volk. As most know, Mel oversees our buildings and grounds and, along with Bob Volk, does a wonderful job of keeping things clean. Over the past week, Margaret has also done a spic and span job overseeing precautionary disinfecting. Prior to our Thursday evening Holy Eucharist, she used a disinfecting agent to wipe down pews, doorknobs, and other frequently touched areas and items in our church and plans to continue this practice in advance of upcoming worship services.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

In service to our Lord and His Church, I remain your humble servant,

The Reverend Randall M. Graf
Pastor