Good afternoon, Nokomis Heights –
My heart is heavy for the need to write yet another COVID update for our community. I think it is safe to say that while we are done with COVID, it is not done with us. We pray for all who work in healthcare, that God would grant patience, courage, strength, and wisdom to weather yet another tsunami of this awful virus. And we pray for all of you doing your best to live in this ever-changing world while keeping yourselves, your families, and your communities safe.
As you know, our COVID response at Nokomis Heights has always been rooted in love and care for our neighbor. How can we continue to worship, grow in faith, provide space for meaningful community, serve our neighborhood, and care deeply for the wellbeing of our neighbor? It is that question that has guided every decision we have made so far, and that same question guides this update.
Beginning this coming Sunday, January 9, 2022, we will provide at-home materials for Sunday School, and Confirmation will meet via zoom from 11:15-11:45. There will be no Adult Forum. Our in-person Worship gathering will be an abbreviated service of Morning Prayer. The service will last between 30-40 minutes and will include fewer songs, children’s message (with children in seats with parents), sermon, and prayers. On the first and third Sundays of the month, Pastors will be available for individual communion following worship. A fuller, Online Worship, including children’s message, will premiere on Facebook and YouTube at 10:00 am on Sunday mornings and can be accessed anytime thereafter.
As always, we require masking in the church building, and strongly encourage you to wear N95 or KN95masks, as these are the only masks deemed effective at controlling the spread of the Omicron variant. We are working to obtain some KN95 masks to have available at church should you choose to come to in-person worship and not have one of your own.
These new safety measures will be in place through January 30, when we will re-evaluate based on community spread.
I am grateful for each of you, and I hold you in my prayers. On top of Omicron, this is also the darkest and coldest time of year. Be tender with yourselves and one another. Drink tea, do puzzles, connect with friends and family in ways that keep one another safe, and know that God is with you—with all of us—as we turn yet another corner in this season that seems never-ending.
Sending grace, peace, and Christ’s love,
Pastor Kris
