Friends,
A lot has happened since I posted yesterday about coronavirus preparedness, including major cancellations by the NCAA and Disney. We have revisited our decision to hold in-person worship this Sunday and because we are called as people of faith to take care of and protect one another, especially the most vulnerable, all scheduled services and in-person gatherings of Ginter Park Baptist are suspended. We will continue to assess the situation and will update the community about when we might resume.
Health officials are advising all of us to escalate social distancing in order to limit the spread of the virus and reduce the likelihood of overwhelming our healthcare systems. I share this from Sojourners:
“Congregations should strongly consider acting more proactively and aggressively than other institutions in the community might currently be for a couple of reasons. As discussed in other contexts, the long incubation period for the virus means it’s often too late to wait until people in the congregation are confirmed to have COVID-19 because people may feel perfectly well and still be passing the virus to the people they come into contact with. Second, as trusted institutions in the community, modeling the behavior and level of caution that’s necessary to mitigate the impact of the epidemic helps individuals to take it seriously and do the same, and helps leaders of other community institutions to follow churches’ lead.” (Read the full article.)
I hope to have more soon on how we might still gather virtually on Sundays – perhaps even this Sunday – and we certainly want to continue to stay connected with one another, even if we are unable to do so in person.
Please also be thinking about people in your life – family, neighbors, friends – who may not have the support system you have and who might need someone to get groceries or fill a prescription, or who might simply feel isolated or scared and could use a friendly phone call or a wave from a front porch. We are called to be the church to everyone in our metropolitan community.
