Dear Ones,

Almost exactly three months ago I sent an email letting you know that we would be suspending in-person worship at St. Martin’s in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I wish I could tell you that we are lifting the suspension soon, but that is not the case.

Instead, I’m writing to reassure you that we are working on a plan for regathering for in-person worship—and to confirm what many already suspect, which is that we will not be regathering in the near future. By “we” I primarily mean the staff and the Regathering Task Force: Maria Acuna-Feldman, Gabe Avila, Elise Keddie, and Chris Reynolds. We might add one or two people to the Task Force, and we will definitely be working in close consultation with the Ministry Council, the Vestry, and a number of other people both inside and outside the parish.

At the end of this letter you will find short biographies of the members of the Task Force. I think you will agree that they represent a range of experience and a depth of knowledge that will be invaluable in helping us define a path forward. The creation of a Task Force is one part of the process outlined in the Diocese’s document called “Regathering with Safety and Care,” which I would encourage everyone to read.

Is there a piece of advice you remember from childhood that has stuck with you all these years? My dad, who is still practicing trial law after 58 years, once told me something that I have never forgotten (my guess is this was a bit of counsel he often gave to clients!). He said that sometimes the very best answer to a question is three simple words: I don’t know. He warned me that the older I got and the more responsibility I had in life, the harder it would be to say—harder, but also more important. A lot of bad, even tragic, decisions have been made by people who just couldn’t bring themselves to admit when they didn’t have all the answers.

So, if your question to me is, “When will we be gathering together in person for worship?” the honest answer is: I don’t know. There’s a lot that I don’t know and, honestly, that none of us can know right now, because we are dealing with a situation that is unlike anything we’ve ever dealt with before as a community.

One thing we do know is that the health crisis caused by the COVID-10 pandemic is still with us. With so much “reopening” happening over Memorial Day weekend, we are now seeing spikes in cases and hospitalizations around the country, including in Sacramento and Yolo Counties. This data should remind us all to continue to be cautious, to go out in public as little as possible, to wear masks, to wash hands, and so on. It is frustrating, it is boring, it is lonely. It will end some day but, sadly, it isn’t over yet.

Further, we know that if we choose to worship together in person in the next few months it will not be in any sense a “normal” worship experience for anyone. Among other safety precautions, we would have to limit the number of people in the building, we would need to encourage anyone over the age of 65 or with preexisting health conditions to stay home, we would have to wear masks at all times, and we would not be able to sing or maybe even pray responsively. We would likely not have Communion. We would definitely not shake hands, hug, or be closer than six feet apart from one another. We would not have Coffee Hour or potlucks.

The list goes on. It is hard to think clearly and rationally about these restrictions when the cry of our hearts is for something we love so dearly to return to our lives. But our faith does not permit us to refuse to deal with reality. To use Biblical language, we have to be people who have eyes to see and ears to hear. And the reality is that any return to in-person worship during this pandemic will not really be a “return” at all, in the sense of going back to the way we have always done things. The bottom line is that we cannot yet safely provide an experience that will feel much like what most of us know and love about worshiping together at St. Martin’s.

That is the hard truth. While we continue to grapple with that, we should not forget that there is much good news, too. Our online services are working well. The most critical work of the church is moving on apace. We are having more intimate and even profound conversations during Zoom Coffee Hour, giving us unexpected ways to meet our often-stated goal of creating more meaningful relationships with one another. People are staying connected through phone calls, daily prayer time, notes in the mail, and participating in activities like our chalk mural.

I am grateful to the members of the Regathering Task Force for being willing to devote significant time to helping us think through these realities and to coming up with a plan that will keep us both safe and connected. It is our goal to ensure that, however long it takes before we regather, we will keep functioning as the vital and engaged congregation that we have always been and continue to be even now, in these strange and uncertain times.

Be sure to look for regular updates from the Task Force. Our next meeting will be focused specifically on technology and the work we need to do to successfully launch a “hybrid” approach to worship, where both online and limited in-person services will be available. We also plan to send out a survey to parishioners to gauge your feelings about some of the possible options facing us.

Your questions and input are invaluable and a big part of what keeps us together as a community. Even more urgently, I request your prayers—prayers for those who are sick, for those who are anxious or lonely, for those who are unemployed, and prayers for those of us grappling with hard decisions that affect the physical and spiritual health of people in our care.

Blessings,

Pamela+

INTRODUCTION TO OUR REGATHERING TASK FORCE

Maria Acuna-Feldman

Member of the Ministry Council; Chair of the Life in Community Commission. I have a keen desire to ensure that St. Martin’s has a detailed plan to safeguard our congregation though the various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Operations Manager with Mercy Housing. Most recently working on COVID-19-related tasks to support staff now working from home. Active participant in the preparation and implementation of a strategic Return-to-Office plan for the three California corporate offices. Familiarity with recent CDC and Cal OSHA industry guidelines to operate safe, clean environments that reduce the spread of transmission and maintain healthy work spaces.

I appreciate and strongly support the Diocesan guidelines for Regathering with Safety and Care. Above all, I trust that the St. Martin’s community will understand and support the steps we must take to meet the requirements for regathering in person in the months to come.

Gabe Avila

I serve on St. Martin’s vestry as well as in many other ministries. As a Stephen Ministry leader, and with a B.S. in Psychology, I recognize the importance of supporting the emotional wellbeing of the congregation during this crisis.

My experience as a Eucharistic Visitor, volunteer with Citizens Who Care, member of the Caring Ministries committee, and chair of Helping Hands lends itself to assisting people, especially the elderly, in innovative ways.

As head of St. Martin’s sound system technicians, my familiarity with the church’s technology systems will assist as the Task Force discerns what technological changes the church needs.

I am also chair of the All Are Welcome committee and keep in mind accessibility and multicultural questions, newcomers, as well as other issues related to welcoming all.

I am now a full-time father to two young children, and offer the voice of a parent to this Task Force. I am also a retired police officer and Medal of Valor recipient. I write novels in my spare time (what little I have of it with two little ones!).

I am honored to serve on this Task Force and look forward to finding the best way to support the congregation through this pandemic.

Elise Keddie

A lifelong Episcopalian, I have been a member of St. Martin’s for more than 20 years. I hold a PhD in Microbiology, and have research experience in infectious diseases of human and veterinary importance, including diagnostics and vaccine development. I currently serve on the Vestry and deeply miss singing with St. Martin’s choir.

Chris Reynolds

I have been a member of St. Martin’s since 1995, with years away at various times to live in Germany. When in Davis I was a professor of music at U.C. Davis (until retiring in 2018) and often a choir director and occasionally also organist at St. Martin’s. Having grown up as a member of the St. George’s Episcopal Church Choir in Riverside, I have sung in one choir or another most of my life. I long for the day when we can sing together once again.

Among the things Alessa and I have been grateful for at St. Martin’s over the years are its youth programs. They were crucial help to us as we raised our son. We have also at a moment of health emergency been on the receiving end of meals and assistance from members of the church. All of these things — choir, youth programs, and helping hands — are made difficult (even temporarily impossible) by the pandemic. I hope that this committee can help find a way forward that can happen as soon as safety allows.