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Conference Re-gathering Plan moves to Orange Phase

CBS News reported the following on Saturday: “There are new signs that the nation’s months long battle against the coronavirus is moving in a dangerous direction. There were more than 83,000 confirmed cases reported Friday, marking a new record high for a single day in the country. The outbreak is also more widespread. The latest surge is pushing the number of infections to more than 8.4 million and increasing the death toll past 223,000 according to Johns Hopkins University…41 states reported an increase in average new cases. Fifteen states also showed record hospitalization, indicating more precautions are needed—fast.”

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Department of Health reported these statistics and recommendations to the religious community last Tuesday:

• There have been more than 1,000 cases a day in Minnesota in recent days—representing the most widespread community spread since the start of the pandemic.
 
• A look at how spread has increased in Minnesota over just the past few weeks (the numbers listed are cumulative since the start of the pandemic):

  Three weeks ago Last week
Cases associated with wedding 365 570
Outbreaks associated with wedding 41 62
Cases associated with a funeral 124 136
Outbreaks associated with a funeral 18 20
Cases associated with worship 105 121
Faith community outbreaks 18 20

 

• If 100 people come to in-person worship, statistically at least six are going to be infectious right now. The advice given by a state epidemiologist: Meet virtually instead of in-person.
 
• The current rate of community spread is 37.6 percent. (A rate of 20 percent or more signifies caution. A rate of 30 percent or more is considered high-risk.)
 
• Someone asked the question: Where are we in terms of red light, yellow light, green light in terms of how we should act? The response from a state epidemiologist: Dark orange.
 
The next six to 12 weeks will be critical, according to Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and one of the nation’s leading infectious disease experts.

For all these reasons, we are turning the dial on our phased re-gathering plan back to orange. Doing no harm, acting for the common good, and protecting the most vulnerable among us is how we love our neighbor. What this means: I’m asking you to limit your in-person gatherings to 10 people or fewer while wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. Group gatherings have been the most significant source of the spread of COVID-19 in recent weeks. We have the power to help change the trajectory of this pandemic.
 
Yes, the orange phase is more restrictive than what the governor’s office currently allows. I understand the challenge this places on our churches, but given all the data before us, I believe this is the most prudent course of action. At a very minimum, I request you adhere to the governor’s guidelines and closely watch the data in your community. If your school district is not holding in-person classes, then the church probably should not be having in-person worship either (this link always has the latest county-by-county 14-day case numbers, along with associated recommendations for school districts; it’s a good tool for us to use to help guide our decision-making). We trust you to make decisions, in consultation with local officials, that will protect the vulnerable, our neighbors, and each other and still provide meaningful spiritual leadership to your community. Thank you for the creative, adaptive spirit you bring to our common work of healing a broken world in these critical days.
 
Remember, the church is not closed! We will continue to be creative in how we minister in these unprecedented times, and together we can make it through this pandemic. Our actions now will save lives.  And isn’t that the business we are ultimately in? Salvation—life for all people!

Bishop Bruce R. Ough
Resident Bishop
Dakotas-Minnesota Area of The United Methodist Church

Advent and Christmas ideas

Although we won't be able to enjoy packed-full sanctuaries on Christmas Eve, there are a variety of ways to gather safely and to celebrate the coming of Jesus. Twin Cities District pastors recently shared some ideas with each other, and they are so creative that we want to lift some of them up to the whole conference:

• send care packages/worship kits with some Christmas items that families can use or enjoy as they embrace the season
• send out instructions for making an Advent wreath or provide “at home hanging of the greens kits,” along with weekly prayers or readings for lighting candles throughout the season (perhaps connecting people who live alone via Zoom so they can do it together)
• have a brief and simple Christmas Eve worship service outdoors (perhaps with a bonfire)
• prepare a Christmas pageant in pictures (kids could dress up in nativity attire and be photographed ahead of time, and then the photos could be shown virtually on Christmas Eve during the telling of the Christmas story)
• host a drive-in Christmas movie in your parking lot using an FM transmitter
• send paper bags to families and ask them to create personalized luminaries to be placed in the sanctuary and used during worship or filmed and photographed
• have a virtual (live or pre-recorded) Christmas pageant using Zoom and/or Facebook Live
• host a drive-through or walk-through Christmas Eve experience outside your church building (perhaps using a life-size nativity scene as part of it)
• host an Advent book study
• plan a socially distanced Christmas carol sing in your church parking lot 
• dependent on how COVID-19 case numbers are looking in December, instead of a big single Christmas worship service, host a series of brief and small “Carols by Candlelight” services in the weeks leading up to Christmas (have people make reservations so you can adhere to capacity limits you set)
 
 

Olu Brown Advent study

In his new book, “Hope: An Advent Journey,” Rev. Olu Brown encourages readers to reclaim Advent as something already here, not a season waiting to arrive. Matthew’s gospel speaks of Jesus as Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” This name does not speak of the future, but of the present. The book reminds us that our hope is not based on external situations, but on eternal promises. Brown offers a variety of free resources related to the book that congregations could use, including sermon starters, PowerPoint slides, liturgies and song selections, and various small group studies.  Learn more

 

Pre-made worship service for use on Dec. 27

The Cabinet and conference staff are preparing a pre-recorded worship service for congregations to use the Sunday after Christmas (Dec. 27). It will be distributed to clergy before Christmas and can be streamed or shared using the channel(s) each church typically uses. Consider giving yourself, your worship team, and your tech support people a much needed Christmas break!

 
 

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