3/17/20

Dear St. Philip’s,

This is a difficult time. If you have not already heard, Bishop Dietsche and the Diocese of New York have asked that all churches in the Diocese follow the CDC guidelines of cancelling all public worship, gatherings, and in-person meetings until at least after Easter and perhaps until May 17, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  This is big news and makes us realize that we all need God’s presence, prayer, and church more than ever right now. So, please know that St. Philip’s isn’t “closed” for ministry, worship, prayer, formation or outreach. While we won’t be gathering for public worship or in person meetings for many weeks, there will be creative ways that we can continue our life together.

Think about the early church – Christians were afraid to gather together for fear of political authorities. We may not be fearful for  the exact same reasons, but we need to be aware that when we are in the presence of another, there is a risk for disease transmission. So, like the early Church, we can be creative and faithful in our call and mission.

In the next week we will be working on ways that we might post recorded, live, or streamed prayer, worship, and music on our website or Facebook page. We may offer some short meditative prayers, as well as a longer Sunday worship service. We will let you know how to access these opportunities.  If you do not already follow St. Philip’s on Facebook, now would be a good time to start, as Facebook is a great way to connect to our church community 

I have been in touch with our Canons and Bishop Mary Glasspool and we have agreed that small outdoor gatherings, while observing distance from each other, do not violate CDC guidelines. So, as the weather warms, I will be offering opportunities for outdoor small group study, prayer walks, and yoga. A friend of mine has written a book about Christian yoga and so we can engage those practices as well. These activities are particularly exciting for me, and they are activities that I wanted to offer in the next year anyway, so now seems to be the time. I will let you know about specific opportunities in the days to come.  Please see the message below from our wardens regarding giving to St. Philip’s during these challenging times.

In Christ,
Amanda