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Dear Church,
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!  My prayer is that you have found this Christmas season to be an opportunity to renew faith and affirm hope in Jesus Christ.  Although, for some of our brothers and sisters in Christ, this has been a difficult season with new hardships to face.  On top of what we may be facing in our personal lives, we continue to face the challenges that touch all our lives collectively.  
COVID19, and the most recent Omicron variant, has caused our Government and Health Authority to re-evaluate its current pandemic measures and safety protocols once again.  If we spend too much time watching the news and listening to the numbers, we can easily become captured with fear and discouragement.  We are reminded that our world needs the Church to be a beacon of hope and grace – a place where faith is discovered and lived.  
Thankfully, the church continues to be recognized as a relatively safe place for people to gather and receive spiritual care during these difficult days:


As COVID-19 vaccinations are administered throughout the province, we can gather in-person again to share hope, healing, restoration and recovery. As pillars of strength, religious organizations and faith-based worship services play a critical role in connecting the community by supporting beneficial and safe social interactions.

 (http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/community-settings/faith-based-spiritual-and-worship-practices)


It is imperative that if we are to continue holding in-person services, then we need to work within the public health guidelines and orders and ensure that we are doing everything within our capability to prevent the spread of the virus while continuing to fulfill our missional mandate.  

At the current time we are allowed to hold full services without capacity restrictions if everyone is fully vaccinated or maximum 50% capacity if not everyone is vaccinated.  Since we are not going to be checking everyone’s vaccination status, we fall under the latter category.  

In regard to mask wearing:

Masks are required but can be temporarily removed for ceremonial eating and drinking, and by officiants, readers or for singing a solo where physical distancing is observed.

(https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/restrictions#pho-order)


We will be requiring that anyone who enters our building (age 5+) wear a mask over their mouth and nose.  If this is not possible for you, then we encourage you to join in our services online until it is once again safe to gather without masks.  Also, there will a pause on refreshments being offered before/after Sunday services.  

We will also be putting on hold all in-person small groups and Sunday School classes until at least the end of January at which time we will reassess.  If you are able to host your class online, then we encourage you to do so and connect with the church office to set you up with a Zoom link to be used.

PLEASE remember that the decisions that we make and the reasons we cooperate with our governing authorities is not out of fear but rather motivated by love.  The last thing we want to have to do is have people policing these protocols and so we ask for everyone’s cooperation in keeping the church a safe place.  As we have seen we can continue to be the Church, perhaps even in greater ways, when circumstances are tough.  Please continue to hold each other in prayer.  

In Christ,
Pastor Aaron