ALL ARE WELCOME AT
St. Andrew's Episcopal
The Episcopal Church in Mountain Home, Arkansas
Dear siblings in Christ,
Previously we sent out a letter to members of the congregation explaining where we are at in terms of a plan to return to in-person worship. It was a rather lengthy letter, but sought to offer some of the guidelines we are working with and an understanding of what needs to be in place to return. The first thing to say is that we are still in the midst of a public health crisis. Regardless of how long it has gone on for or how tired of it we may be, we are still fighting a virus with no cures. In 5 months we have had almost 120,000 people die in this country alone. Reopening church does not mean it is safe to return, but that hopefully our medical infrastructure can now handle the amount of cases that will occur as we return to normal activities. I cannot overstate that attending church is one of the highest risk activities you can partake in. It is a large gathering of people from all over, who have been to many other places, possibly not those following standard safety procedures, and you are sitting for an extended amount of time in one room with all of these people. Unlike grocery shopping, where you get in and get out, this is a period of time where you remain in the same place for extended periods. In this communication, I want to outline the specific guidelines that will be enforced when we reopen. These guidelines are taken from the State of Arkansas Department of Health and the Bishop of Arkansas's directives, and are done so based on the most recent available research per the CDC. We will begin in-person worship on the weekend of June 27th-28th. There will be three service times: 5pm Saturday evening - Rite II 8am Sunday morning - Rite I 10:30 Sunday morning - Rite II (this service will be live-streamed)
We will be reaching out this week to begin the signup for the 27th and 28th. We will also need a reader to volunteer for each service. I am also thankful for those that have volunteered to help clean between services. A rota will be sent out soon for them. It will also be helpful to have ushers to assist in directing movement of folks. Together, we will get through this in the safest possible manner. ~Fr. Kevin Comments are closed.
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Service TimesDue to COVID-19 in-person worship is suspended until further notice. Contact Us
870-425-3560 Email St. Andrew’s 511 Coley Drive Mountain Home, AR 72653 OFFICE HOURS Tuesday–Thursday, 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m. |