A Brief Update re: Covid-19

As our Board shared in mid-December, and in response to our survey and congregational feedback at that time, we are planning to re-open Sunday services to in-person participation, early in 2022.

We know many of you are longing to gather in body – many of us who’ve been leading worship remotely feel the same way! At the moment, the Board and I are cautiously targeting February for a return to gathering in Bell Hall. The exact date will be determined based on local conditions (e.g. case counts continuing to fall) and on availability of volunteers. In recent weeks, even with the small number of Staff and volunteers required to be present in Bell Hall for livestreaming, we’ve had a number of folks call out due to illness or exposure to Covid-19 at home. Therefore, waiting a few more weeks for case counts to decline not only helps create a safer environment – it also ensures we’ll have enough people present to hold space for worship, for programs for our congregation’s children, and for continuing our livestream for those who wish to join from home.

Please stay tuned for updates in the coming month. In the meantime, we want to make you aware of two more shifts in our Covid-19 Exposure Protocol:

• In the current protocol, we ask you to notify us if you test positive for Covid-19 within 14 days after you attend a WellSprings event. In keeping with updated guidance from the CDC and local health officials, we are now asking you to notify us if you test positive within 7 days after you attend an in-person event at WellSprings.
• Because all of our events this month have been limited-attendance, we have stopped sending all-congregation e-mails to notify of exposures. All of the people who were present at any event where an exposure took place were still notified via e-mail.

Of course, as things continue to change, we will continue to update our practices, and will publish any new information here on Realm, in the WellSprings Weekly, and on our website.

I miss being with you all, as we move through these winter months – and I’m grateful for all of the ways we can keep connected now, and will re-connect, in the weeks and months ahead. <3

Take care,

Rev. Lee