BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE
“… lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” – Ephesians 4:1-3 (NRSV)
In recent weeks, we have been approached by members of the church that have wondered why we have not yet resumed congregational singing during in-person worship. As promised, we have been keeping up to date on current health department, CDC, our insurance provider and Conference recommendations when considering how and when it is responsible to resume congregational singing. The latest update that the Wisconsin Council of Churches released on April 16, 2021 articulates how and when we can slowly and safely resume singing our beloved hymns together in our sanctuary again. That answer is simply, not yet. Below are highlights from their recent release pertaining to gathering and singing in times of COVID19.
While vaccination rates continue in the right direction, at this time, Sheboygan County reports that 27% of residents in Sheboygan County have been fully vaccinated. It is important to remember that children and youth under the age of 16 are still not eligible for vaccination. We are at a point in the pandemic where we must consider how to live with COVID19 in our communities and that means we do not abandon safe practices or return to the status quo pre-pandemic.
We take seriously the role of the church as a community leader. Our church community consists of people of all ages and we pledge to continue to
- Prioritize protecting the life and health of our neighbors.
- Follow the call to love good deeds urgently and care-fully.
- Believe in the resilience of the church.
If a vaccine is available, can we begin gathering again?
Yes, and we have. However, it is important to remember that our congregation is not a closed group. We move around and interact with wider communities for work, school, shopping, and recreation – even when we are being cautious due to COVID. Focusing only on those in our church fails to recognize how we all interact within our broader community and does not address care of neighbor.
Aren’t we close to herd immunity yet?
While everyone above the age of 18 is eligible to receive the vaccine, not everyone can. Those at risk of adverse reactions from the vaccine, those with health conditions that prohibit them from receiving it, as well as youth and children under the age of 16, are not eligible to receive the vaccine at this time. It is critically important that as many people as are eligible get vaccinated. Herd immunity is still quite a way off. “Herd immunity” describes the point at which COVID outbreaks can’t sustain themselves any longer: the virus can’t find enough susceptible individuals to replicate, instead of growing exponentially, as we’ve been seeing for the past year. We don’t want to make this too complicated, or seem difficult! Reaching herd immunity means a LOT of people need to be protected by being vaccinated against COVID, more than 75%. There are people in our community that are not yet eligible for the vaccine. They need to count on us to protect them by being immunized.
But aren’t we protected with vaccines?
Vaccines may not prevent you from inadvertently infecting others. Until public health experts provide science-backed guidance that we can lessen these precautions and/or we reach herd immunity, we need to commit to the practices we know will offer protections to ourselves and our community.
When can we sing safely?
The science behind the risk of singing has been consistent. Research tells us that singing produces an aerosol mass that can travel 16 (or more) feet. It is predicted that places of worship will be able to safely resume singing indoors once we have achieved herd immunity (75% vaccination).
In the meantime, we plan to offer opportunities for worship outdoors (as weather permits), offering special music by (fully vaccinated) musicians, or prerecorded hymns to meditate on and enjoy.
This has been a long road. We are all tired. We long to express our faith through song. We miss hearing our hymns and singing them—praying them—together. We yearn to enter our church once again and lift our voices in song. There is light at the end of the tunnel. We are asking for your patience and to trust that we are acting in the best interests of the safety of our church family.
What can we do?
Promote vaccination of your friends and neighbors out of abundant care for all our brothers and sisters and continue to pray for our church and the world as we move forward with Christ together.
Yours faithfully,
Rev. Jim Hoppert, Pastor
Marsha Meyer, Director of Youth & Family Ministries
