Pastoral Letter - Update Regarding In-Person Worship

Square+for+Instagram.jpg

Update: Per guidance from Gov. Holcomb, if the state has labeled your county as orange, then no more than 50 people are permitted for an in-person gathering. If your county is labeled as red, then no more than 25 people are permitted for an in-person gathering.

24 September 2020 

Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings, 

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Light for all people! 

As of 13 September, we have lived with the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic for 6 months.  Those consequences include, as of today in the United States, 7,135,603 persons who have tested positive with COVID 19 and 206,482 deaths due to COVID 19.  Other consequences include the loss of employment for millions which has led the loss of health insurance not to mention the challenges for many trying to navigate online learning for their children as well as working remotely themselves or caring for a loved one in a care facility.  Along the way, our missioners and I have done our best to consult with others about best practices, develop our Plan for Regathering for In-person Worship initially adopted in mid-May and identify platforms to enhance the information available regarding all of the data and measurements used to determine a way forward for us. 

In late March, I convened a Diocesan Disaster / Crisis Team comprised of Canon Terri Bays, Canon Carol Bianchini, Canon Christopher Hillak, Canon Michelle Walker and Bishop Frank Gray.  We began meeting weekly via ZOOM on 6 April.  I want to thank each of them for the difficult and challenging work they have done and continue to do on our behalf.  In consultation with other dioceses in Province V and the wider church, we developed the Plan for Regathering for In-person Worship.  Thanks to Fr.TJ Freeman, serving as Rector of Trinity Fort Wayne, in July, we were directed to the Harvard website which helped us adopt the Determination Color Code based on the number of cases per 100K in each of our counties in addition to the State of Indiana Dashboard. 

We know more in September regarding the spread of COVID 19 than we did in June which makes it possible to adapt our initial plan for Regathering.  The Episcopal Dioceses in Michigan began allowing 25 % of full capacity for indoor In-person Worship, which includes the protocols of physical distancing, wearing masks, using hand sanitizer along with all the other protocols in our Diocesan Plan.  In consultation with our Clergy, with the support and affirmation of our Diocesan Council and with the support of our Standing Committee, I have decided to implement the “ Michigan Adaptation” for all of our faith communities in Northern Indiana.  In doing so, I want to invoke the Anglican principle, all may, none must, some should.  Implementing this adaptation assumes that the clergy, wardens, and vestry of our 33 faith communities have prepared and submitted a Plan for Regathering for my review and approval.  As of this writing, 24 faith communities have submitted a plan.  Some of our faith communities will move to implement this adaptation this coming Sunday.  Others may choose to take some time to make sure all things necessary are in place before gathering in person.  What is most important to underscore is that each of our faith communities needs to listen to local officials, following their advice which may include closing if advised to do so. 

For those faith communities who choose to move to indoor In-person Worship, it is also important to underscore that this next phase should be a Hybrid Phase…both in-person and virtual worship should be offered so that everyone connected to your faith community may continue to gather. 

As I said earlier, we have learned some things since March and April.  First, as we moved out of lock down, the potential for achieving a 14-day decline in some of our more populated counties is virtually impossible.  Second, more testing is available in our state which gives us better sense of the positivity rate, another factor in determining the spread of the virus.  Third, the state has assumed responsibility for contact tracing which initially was the responsibility of each county. 

Bishop Andy Doyle of the Diocese of Texas sent a letter to the clergy in mid-June. He discussed several important topics:  exposure and moral leadership.  In terms of exposure, he quoted leading epidemiologist from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Michael Osterholm who said, “Exposure as a dose is a combination of time and amount.”  Exposure = time and amount.  Therefore, physical distancing, mask and brevity are essential for congregations in buildings.  This means as you do gather, we believe you need to keep the service short, between 30 and 45 minutes. 

Regarding moral leadership, Bishop Doyle pointed out that early in the pandemic, we were presented with two strong binary options:  lockdown or do nothing.  We have come to understand that moral leadership requires protocols for everyone’s safety.  Hence, that is why developing your Plan for Regathering is essential and that we may need to adapt our protocols, as the circumstances change.  Bishop Doyle then shared another quote from Dr. Osterholm, “We have to learn not only to die with this virus, which tragically we’ve had to do, but we also have to learn how to live with it.” 

So, my friends, what is required of all of us is wisdom, attention to implementing the Plan for Regathering in your context, directed by your clergy, wardens and vestry and moral leadership. 

If you have any questions, please contact me or one of our missioners.  We stand ready to continue to support you in any way that we can. 

I conclude, quoting Bishop Andy Doyle, in his letter to the clergy.  “This is hard and difficult work.  It is very difficult to do this work when your peers are not making the same choices.  It is challenging when parishioners push and pull at you.  I want to re-emphasize that we will support you if you open now, or later, if you close due to community spread, and when you are defending protocols against parishioner pushback.”  These sentiments are also true for the wardens and vestry members of our faith communities as they try make the best decisions possible. 

 Be assured of my prayer and support.  This comes with a brother’s love… 

Doug

The Rt. Rev. Douglas E. Sparks
VIII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana

September 17 Determination Letter

in

My Dear Kindred in Christ,

More of our counties are in the Yellow Zone this week, and more are at the Low end of Orange. This, plus a lovely weather forecast for Sunday, is good news for our worship planning! This week’s "county to watch” is Marshall, which has been hovering in the low-Orange zone for a few weeks now but may well make it into the Yellow Zone by the time Sunday rolls around. Marshall is a county with an excellent Positivity Rate at 2.32%, so when the numbers look like they’re going down, we can be fairly confident that this is an reasonable reflection of the state of the infections in the county.

Green - N/A
Green/Yellow - LaGrange
Yellow - Adams, Cass, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Porter
Orange - Allen, Elkhart, Grant, Howard, Lake, Marshall, St. Joseph, Steuben
Red - N/A

Thank you as always for your efforts to find safe ways to support the spiritual lives of your congregations.

Blessings,

Terri

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

September 10 Determination Letter

my-visual_47625133-5.png

My Dear Kindred in Christ,

With our counties still adjusting to the consequences of school re-openings of various types, our COVID-numbers remain high. The bright spots on this otherwise shadowed horizon include St. Joseph County coming down out of the Red Zone and Marshall County coming within shouting distance of Yellow (watch your numbers the next 2 days—you just might make it!). Also inspiring are some of the plans emerging for thoughtful and creative indoor worship within the newly adjusted guidelines.

By the way, if you visit the state COVID dashboard at https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/2393.htm, you’ll notice a new tab entitled “County Metrics.” This tab lets you know the 7-day positivity rate for your county, a rate that can indicate how likely it is that folks who are infected are actually getting tested. The WHO and other health organizations have indicated that a positivity rate of under 5% is an indicator that testing is sufficiently robust to allow for confidence that a region has met reopening criteria. We will consider this information when looking at “borderline cases,” such as the question above of when Marshall County (with an excellent positivity rate of 1.65%!) crosses into the Yellow Zone.

Terri

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

September 3 Determination Letter

in
my-visual_47625133(10).png

My Dear Kindred in Christ,

COVID numbers remain high this week, with even more of our counties in the Orange zone, though a few (notably Elkhart and Lake counties) in lower parts of that zone than they'd occupied for many months before. I would draw your attention to particularly high numbers reported for September 2 in several counties. Whether that is a result of particular events or a reflection of testing patterns remains to be seen—this uncertainty is why we try to look at averages and trends.

Indoor gathering remains a challenge, especially because infection numbers, and therefore plans, can change on short notice. We appreciate your steadfastness and resourcefulness in responding to these changing circumstances, especially as we prepare for the cooler and then the downright cold months to come. If your faith community is taking a more cautious approach than you would like, please keep in mind that the more cautious approaches allow for more safe and consistent service planning. Your patience and flexibility make all the difference.

Loosening of the restrictions on outdoor gathering in the orange zone has allowed a number of parking lot services to take place in areas that have not been able to gather in person for months. We appreciate the amount of care and consideration that has gone into insuring that all the other guidelines (distancing, masks, cleaning and shortening of services, just to name a few!) have been implemented at these services. Who knew that our clergy and lay leaders would be developing expertise in the technical requirements for am/fm broadcasting!

May your faithfulness to God and to one another be a blessing to you in the days ahead!

Terri

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

August 27 Determination Letter

in

27 August 2020

Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings,

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Light for all people!

I want to begin this Pastoral Letter by thanking you for your steadfast faith and witness during the COVID 19 Pandemic. We are now into our 24th week since arriving at the consensus to suspend all in-person worship on 13 March 2020. While we have leaned into the experience of Virtual Worship with all its challenges, like you, I long for the opportunity to gather safely for in-person worship. I especially want to thank our missioners for their good and faithful ministry in helping us adapt...from plotting the daily COVID 19 positive cases for each county to providing the most current communication and informative infographics to preparing for our two virtual conventions this fall...our common life as the Episcopal Church in Northern Indiana continues!

We know more about managing our lives safely in this pandemic now than we did in March. In addition to the 4 criteria in our Pastoral Plan for Regathering, we also made use of the color coding formula of Green (<1 case per 100K); Green -Yellow(5 or less new cases per day per 100K); Yellow (>1 and < or equal to 10 new cases per day per 100K); Orange (>10 and < or equal to 25 new cases per day per 100K) and Red (> 25 new cases per day per 100K) to further assist us in determining the possibility of in-person worship county by county. We have had three ordination services which have helped identify what additional best practices need to be in place for in-person worship. Adhering to protocols for gathering safely for in-person worship like ours, the dioceses in Michigan have allowed for in-person worship using the lower number of 25 % of full legal capacity OR seating with 6’ between household groups.

Taking what we have learned into account, the missioners and I offered the “Michigan adaption”for consideration during our Clergy and Lay Leader Zoom Call yesterday, 26 August. After considerable discussion, most of the clergy and lay leaders supported adopting the “Michigan adaptation” for our diocese. This will require some additional work in reaching a specific number, given the size of each of your worship spaces. However, it could make it possible for more of us to begin gathering outdoors or indoors for in-person worship as we approach September. I want to underscore that how and when this adaptation begins in your faith community will be decided by the clergy and lay leaders of your faith community.

The infographic below describes,in greater detail,the number for indoor worship, given your county’s color determination as well as outdoor worship for your county, given the color determination.

my-visual_47625133-4.png

If you have any questions or concerns, please call on me.

Every blessing,

Doug
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks
VIII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

August 20 Determination Letter

in
my-visual_47625133(7).png

My Dear Kindred in Christ,

Even as our statewide numbers remain high, the situation in some of our counties has started to improve. We give thanks for the role your vigilance has played, both in keeping those numbers lower than they would otherwise have been and for bringing them back down after a spike. May the slight downward turn we have seen in recent days continue! In light of recent numbers, we have two requests to make of you. 

The first is to ask your county health departments whether the numbers for large residential schools that do their own testing (universities and private boarding schools) are being included in your county's statistics. We know, for example, that statistics for tests done at the University of Notre Dame are not being included in the St. Joseph County statistics. This is worrisome, since those students do potentially infect faculty and staff (not to mention employees of businesses near the campus), even more so than, say, inmates in our state prisons potentially infect prison staff who then go out into the community. Knowing whether the county numbers reported to the state include these institutions can help us more accurately gauge the risk in your area.

The second request is that you provide us with feedback on how the various steps you are taking are working out. As we consider the effectiveness of our guidelines, it can be helpful to know what turned out better than expected or gave rise to some unforeseen good, what works just fine, what requires a work-around, and what needs to be re-thought. Because we realize that all these precautions take time and energy, and that people are impatient with the restraints, we want to make sure that what we're doing is, as far as we can tell, actually doing the work we intend for it to do.

May God grant you steadfastness, strength and courage in all you do,

Terri

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

August 13 Determination Letter

in
my-visual_47625133(5).png

Dear Kindred in Christ,

Things are looking a bit worse this week than last. One more county has moved into the Orange zone, and only one county has actually improved its situation (Yay, Steuben!). Please continue to pray for the courage and safety of all those who are forced into harm’s way by the necessity of their work and/or by economic hardship. Know that your steadfastness and your creativity in providing for the pastoral needs of your congregations are bright spots in my week and that I am always happy to work with you to find ways to turn your “crazy ideas” into a sustainable reality.

As Dr. Fauci said to the House of Bishops this past Monday, one of the most important things we can do as faith leaders in these days is to help our people avoid getting stuck in despair. It is natural to experience grief and even depression in times like these. It’s when we decide that things will never get better, however, that we cast aside sensible precautions and make things worse. The more you can encourage your faith communities to practice hopefulness, playfulness, and even a certain amount of childishness in addition to the ever-needful reverence and compassion, the stronger and more resilient you will equip them to be.  

Blessings,

Terri

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

Embracing Evangelism

in
embracingevangelism_logo.png

Join the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana in sharing the GOOD NEWS, every other Wednesday beginning September 9! With so many challenges in the world today, someone might ask, do we have good news to offer? I invite you to believe with me that the Good News of God in Christ is more powerful now than ever before in our lifetime. 

 “How can we do that?” you ask. The newly formed Evangelism Commission is inviting you to an online course this fall. It will inspire you to be evangelists and give you common sense practices to take up the work. The format is video and discussion, produced by Virginia Theological Seminary. Our commission members will act as hosts and facilitators.

Through Zoom the courses will run bi-weekly on Wednesdays after Labor Day to Advent:

  • September 9, 6/5 p.m. (EDT/CDT)

    • Introduction to Evangelism

    • Host: Rev. Michelle Walker (St. Paul’s, LaPorte)

  • September 23, 6/5 p.m. (EDT/CDT)

    • Seek, Name, Celebrate

    • Host: Jordan Trendelman (St. Alban’s, Fort Wayne)

  • October 7, 6/5 p.m. (EDT/CDT)

    • The Great Story and Your Story

    • Host: Marie Gambetta (CEMP)

  • October 21, 6/5 p.m. (EDT/CDT)

    • The Stories of Others

    • Host: Bp. Ed Little (VII Bishop of EDNIN, Retired)

  • November 4, 6/5 p.m. (EDT/CDT)

    • Invite Everyone to More!

    • Host: Rev. Tom Adamson (Holy Family, Angola)

  • November 18, 6/5 p.m. (EDT/CDT)

    • Discernment, What’s Next?

    • Host: Bp. Doug Sparks (VIII Bishop of EDNIN)

A bit more on “good news” from Fr. Tom:

Good news. Is there such a thing today? We hear a lot about “fake news.”  Whether biased or not, news that is hard to hear is readily available. We live in a world with a 24 hours a day - seven days a week “news cycle.” It seems to any observer that sin, evil, and death have the last word in every situation. There is no doubt, however, that these are anxious times; broadly speaking, we’ve all been speaking about among other things in the last few years: global pandemic, economic recession, terrorism, mass shootings, racial injustice, a growing mental health crisis, and a divided body politic. What’s more, we are being slowly formed by the way media outlets frame the stories to us.

I was a participant in the Indiana Youth Institute’s 2020 back to school summit in July. They listed 5 things young people need in order to adapt and adjust in a healthy ways to the anxiety that has surrounded their formative years. Read this list and see two things: One, everyone regardless of age, needs these at any time. And two, that the church is uniquely positioned to offer them. (I’ve put some simple connections in the parentheses.)

  • Routines and structure (The liturgy, the prayer book, the yearly calendar of seasons)

  • Understanding from others (our commitment to the dignity of all people)

  • Safety & security (pastoral care, outreach efforts, a strong  leadership)

  • Permission to Convey Feelings (Bible study groups, youth group, fellowship times, testimonies)

  • Things to Look forward to (Hope in Christ for the new Creation)

It does not take a giant leap of logic nor imagination to see how the life of the church already has these built into it. We need to embrace the opportunities of this moment! I’ve highlighted the last point. It’s time to embrace evangelism again. It’s time to hone our skills of telling GOOD NEWS! 

Virtual Safeguarding Children/Youth Guidelines and Training

in

My Dear Kindred in Christ,

Many of our faith communities are responding to the need for continued physical distancing by converting their programs for children and youth into an online format. While many of these will be one-way video presentations, others will involve online interaction among children and adults. Please remember that many of our Safeguarding policies governing face-to-face interactions will still be relevant in this online context. These include but are not limited to:

  • 2-Deep Ministry—The presence of at least 2 unrelated adults, who have undergone Safeguarding training, is required during all Program activities.

  • Screening—No person will be allowed to volunteer to regularly work with children or youth until the person has been known to the clergy and congregation for at least 6 months.

  • Appropriateness of Content—Reference to individuals’ personal sexual conduct or drug use, and the use of sexually explicit materials is prohibited. 

  • Sobriety—using, possessing, distributing, or otherwise being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs while participating in or assisting with programs or activities specifically for children or youth is prohibited.

  • Protecting Dignity—using harsh or degrading language or participating in or allowing others to conduct any hazing activities is prohibited.

  • Appropriate Boundaries—Adults are required to maintain appropriate boundaries among participants with regard to signs of affection and gift giving. 

Those who have undergone requires Safeguarding training should already be aware of such policies. 

Other challenges also arise in the online context. If your ministry is planning an online gathering of children or youth, please review with your leaders the Social Media Safety module on the Safeguarding Online website. The site requires login, and you should have received account information shortly after you completed the required face-to-face Safeguarding training. If you have not completed the face-to-face training, please contact Missioner Terri Bays at missioner.bays@ednin.org to participate in such training over Zoom.

If you or others are new to your ministries or more than 3 years away from your last Safeguarding training, please be aware that we are offering the 2 following Zoom training opportunities:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We give thanks to God for your participation in tending to the welfare of the children and youth God has entrusted to our care!

Blessings,

Terri

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance

August 6 Determination Letter

in
my-visual_47625133(4).png

My Dear Kindred in Christ,

It has been another rough week. Only a few of our counties have moved back down into Yellow-Falling. Almost all of our counties have either moved into the Orange zone or remained there. If your county is one where children are returning to in-person schooling, you can anticipate your numbers getting worse in the coming weeks. Pray for the safety of students, teachers and staff as they re-enter their buildings. 

In the midst of this, please remember that your patience and forbearance are preventing the people in your faith community from being punished with illness for the poor judgment being exercised by others in your area. We quite naturally focus on the number of deaths, but the long-lasting symptoms experienced by COVID survivors are also potentially devastating.

For those of you who have come up with both innovative and time-honored ways of meeting the spiritual needs of your people at this time—thank you. Thank you for your deep reflection on what it means to be faithful, what it means to show devotion to the body of Christ in times like these. May the fruitfulness of your endeavors be like zucchini in August!

And for those of you who are not feeling quite so creative, who are worn down by the inability to meet the desires of your faith community—hang in there. You are not alone in yearning for some sort of consolation. Consider the spiritual practices that have lifted you up in the past. May they refresh you like a bowl of ice cream at the end of a long, hot day!

Blessings,

Terri

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx