Dear friends,
For more than a year, we have been learning how to be church during a pandemic. We have climbed the steep learning curve of Zoom. We have grieved the loss of members and friends and grieved hugs and meals and singing together. We have discovered new ways of connecting, worshipping, and reaching out to the wider community. We have deepened our understanding of what it means to be church. In many ways, it has been hard. In many ways, we are thriving.
Now we move into a new time of challenge, as we prepare for what church will be like post-pandemic. How do we take the gifts we have discovered this year and carry them into the future? How do we make decisions when the science keeps evolving? Where do we go from here?
Our Phasing Forward Team has been gathering since late March to begin exploring these questions. Thank you to Paul Blow, Cindy Sweeney, Len Ezbicki, Karen Nell Smith, Debbie Clark, Rick Seaholm, Nicola Seaholm and Lori Chapin-Wilson for their thoughtful and creative work.
At our Congregational Meeting on April 18, the group offered an update. We began by articulating the values that are guiding this process. In our phasing forward, we seek to be loving, connected, inclusive, and safe.
As a congregation that values being loving, we want to be together when we can, honor our congregation’s gifts and fears, and communicate the message, “You are seen; you are cared for; you are valued by God and by us.”
Because we value being connected, we will seek to maintain a sense of intimacy in worship, provide opportunities for two-way participation when worship is both in-person and virtual, sustain the new and deeper connections we have made in this time, and offer meaningful faith formation and intergenerational opportunities.
Our value of inclusivity means we will create ways to have as many people as possible participate comfortably, acknowledge and respect a range of needs, and use creative resources that draw from our congregation’s gifts.
We value safety, so we will honor the time, energy and safety of staff and volunteers, do all we can to minimize risk and ensure the well-being of our congregation, and set a good example for the wider community. We will pay attention to the evolving science.
As we assess our next steps, we are working on gathering the information we need, including guidance from the wider church, the city of Framingham and the CDC and research on how to ensure good air flow and air quality. We have prepared a survey for the congregation and will seek on-going feedback. We are also exploring technology and staffing needs, recognizing that learning to create “hybrid” worship (in-person and virtual) will be a gradual process.
Knowing there are many unknowns that may impact our timing and our plans, the team has developed a working model to guide our efforts. We expect to focus on research and planning throughout the spring. In the summer, we hope to try a mix of simplified live-stream worship and outdoor live-streamed worship. If it is safe to do so, we envision beginning to worship in the sanctuary, with live-stream to Zoom, sometime in the fall.
As we move through this time of uncertainty and opportunity, we will hold fast to the values we have articulated. With God’s help, relying on God’s grace and our care for one another, we will be loving, connected, inclusive and safe.
Peace, Debbie
Peace, Debbie