March 14, 2020

Dear Parishioners,

As we see more and more updates and public responses to the spread of COVID–19 (Coronavirus), many of you have wondered what St. Paul’s by-the-Lake will be doing in response to the situation. As part of our Christian witness, we want to make sure that we are being responsible as a church to both our members and the public health at large. To that end, in an abundance of caution and in line with Bishop Lee’s letter this week, St. Paul’s will be canceling public Masses and gatherings after this Sunday. This is clearly not what any of us want to do, but under the circumstances, it may be the best way for us to do our part in slowing the spread of the disease in our community. We will continue to monitor and adjust as the situation unfolds, but for now here are the changes we will be making:

Tomorrow’s 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Masses will proceed as scheduled, though Coffee Hour and Sunday School are canceled. During the Mass, we will not be passing the peace and the Eucharist will be administered with only the Host and not the common Cup. The holy water stoops have been drained.
We encourage anyone who might be sick, who is more likely to become ill from the virus, or may have been potentially exposed to the virus to stay home. We are working on a way to livestream on the web the 10:30a Mass so that you can still worship and participate with us virtually.
Starting Monday, March 16th, all weekday services are canceled until further notice, including the Friday night Stations of the Cross and Lenten teaching series.
Additionally, all other meetings and gatherings are to be suspended or handled with appropriate distancing as much as possible.
We are working on ways to provide digital resources for personal and family worship, such as resources for Morning and Evening Prayer.
As of now, we are tentatively planning on having one private, livestreamed Mass next Sunday, March 22nd.

We recognize that these are highly impactful changes to our life as a parish, and we do not take them lightly. These actions are not just to protect our individual health, but are a way of putting into practice loving our neighbors as ourselves. During this time, it is important that while we all practice physical social distancing, we lean in and explore other ways of closing the distance to still stay connected with each other, finding ways to care and support one another, praying for each other and consciously finding ways to continue worshipping and serving our community.

The situation is and will continue to be very fluid for the foreseeable future. We will continue to provide updates via email, our website, and our Facebook page. Finally, if you know someone who does not use digital media as a regular form of communication, please let us know so that we can have someone give them a phone call with major updates as the situation unfolds.

In Christ,

Fr. Kemp+, the Wardens, and the Vestry

Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within thy holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

--A Prayer for the Parish, 1979 BCP 817