Dear Sister and Brothers of Hope, When I began drafting this email, I planned to say I knew things had gotten serious when Pearl Jam postponed their tour. Twenty-four hours later, there feels like a lot less room for levity. On February 29, I asked the Church Council to give the Safety Committee primary responsibility for our Covid-19 preparations. That team started with the prominent placement of hand sanitizer around the building. We began to receive written guidance from the Wisconsin Council of Churches, as well as the Wisconsin and National settings of the United Church of Christ. Beginning last Sunday, we suspended hand-to-hand touching in worship, Passing the Peace and coming together for the Benediction in other ways. The Greeters are not shaking hands, nor am I. Even if we are not at risk, we cannot allow ourselves to become vectors. Yesterday, the Safety Committee was joined by a local public health official for a Wisconsin Council of Churches teleconference on Covid-19 prevention and preparedness. I joined the team afterwards as we worked through the practical implications for the church. We discussed everything from worship and communion to food preparation and outside building users. Our motto is preparedness, not panic. The Safety Committee will work closely with Council and other Boards and Committees, and will communicate directly with the congregation in the coming days and weeks. It is clear at this point that this pandemic is going to impact how we live and work together in community. We will adapt some practices, may need to cancel some events, and are preparing for the possibility that we might need to worship over the web. Some of you in high risk categories are already following Center for Disease Control advise on social distancing. While we are doing our best to mitigate the spread of disease in our church context, we want you to do what feels comfortable for you. Information on the situation is changing by the hour. It was hard to get a real read on the danger posed by Covid-19 during the initial outbreak in China, which operates under a very different political system from our own. There is now a tsunami of information and misinformation coming out. Please stay informed and check your sources. I would like to address two particular narratives I find troubling. One is the attempt to minimize the seriousness of the situation by comparing Covid-19 to the seasonal flu. They don't shutter industrial economies over the flu. The data now shows that this new strain of coronavirus is many many times more lethal than seasonal influenza. The second narrative that concerns me is that you need not be really concerned until there is community spread in your area. What is becoming increasingly clear is that by the time you know there is community spread, it is already too late. We must act now as if the disease is already in Door County. Some of us don't have local support networks. We may well find ourselves leaving groceries on doorsteps as some are asked to self-quarantine. Our younger adult members will be especially important in that work, as they seem to be the least at risk. Some of us have recently returned from trips, are currently traveling, or must travel in the near future. We hold you in prayer. This congregation is caring and smart, with great leaders. We will journey through this time together as a people of Hope. In Christ, Gary The Rev. J. Gary Brinn Pastor and Teacher
