Dear People of Grace,
I want to make clear what our regular liturgy schedule will look like beginning Sunday, April 11. I have worked with the bishop’s team to find a way to use the protocols within our particular space, adding in elements of our worship so our experience of shared worship can be even more meaningful given our circumstances. Here will be our regular Sunday schedule for the time being, with details around registration and attendance. For those who were wondering, we kept some of our Holy Week services mainly as planned because a substantial amount of work had gone into them with pre-recording and other details, even as new protocols came out.
8:15 AM Holy Eucharist
We will continue our hybrid service, that began March 28, of in-person Holy Eucharist in the nave (registration required) with the online Zoom option for those who remain at home. We will have a soloist to add to the liturgy, and readers will share both in person and online from their homes.
9:30 AM Holy EucharistUPDATE: the regular outdoor service was suspended at the end of April.
Recognizing there may be parishioners who wish to take Communion but aren’t yet comfortable in indoor spaces, we have added an outdoor service to the Sunday schedule. (registration required) Bring your chairs and join us for a spoken service of Holy Eucharist in the parking lot at the corner of Brenau and Boulevard. We will watch the registration numbers carefully to gauge continued interest in this offering.10:45 AM Holy Eucharist
We will continue to stream this service to Facebook and our website, and have worked to find a way to open the nave to in person attendance as well. (registration required) We are constructing a screen for the soloist to stand behind in the loft, which will allow us to follow diocesan protocols and still provide a meaningful worship experience, with music, for parishioners in the pews and those who will continue to participate from home. There will not be shared singing of hymns at this time at in person services, given the precautions the bishop’s staff is keeping in place; however, the soloist and organ will enhance our shared worship.
So, at this time, we will have the capacity of having 150 people in the nave, split between the two services, and another 75 outside, on Sunday mornings. Registration will continue through Eventbrite to track attendance should contact tracing become necessary. As well, entrance to the building will be limited to the front doors under the bell tower. You must enter the building there and be seated in the nave, spaced out in the pews. Everyone must wear a mask. We will only receive Communion with bread; there will be no wine at present. We will not have printed bulletins. You are welcome to print your own copy from our website and bring it with you, or access the pdf document from a mobile device during the service.
Here is an instructional video that might help better explain what worship in the nave will look like during this transitional period:
Also, I am keeping all services as our Rite II Holy Eucharist at this time, because we need one bulletin we can work from to post online. Having multiple liturgies is far too cumbersome given the other pieces we have to manage.
Above all, I celebrate that we can take these steps toward a more familiar worship framework on Sundays. Having the possibility for 150 people to gather in the nave for Holy Eucharist, following precautions, will be deep meaningful for us all! In closing, I want to take another opportunity to thank the staff, the vestry, and the vergers, soloists, and readers who have given so much in these days. Perhaps you want to send a note of gratitude as well.
Be well, everyone.
Stuart+