The council met to discuss our policy around COVID-19. After much discussion, the council recommends that SOV NOT resume service at our Church building at this time, but continue our on-line worship. There are many reasons for this. First, and foremost, despite the Governor’s announcements that churches can resume physical worship, there’s a lot of “fine-print” regarding how Churches can do this, that frankly we are not equipped to handle. There is a 21 point checklist for conducting public worshiping in the State of Massachusetts. It would be quite a challenge for our little congregation to monitor the building attendees, provide the cleaning and sanitation services required to support social safety requirements, as well as track any members who might have COVID-19 and require us to file reports with the State.
We will have a chance to discuss this topic further at the SOV Town Hall Meeting this Sunday, May 31st. . We’d like to hear your suggestions. Also consider some creative ways that small groups might meet in a safe social manner outside or in folks’ homes. So for the time-being, it’s sticking with Zoom on-line worship, coupled with a “wait-and-see” approach on opening our doors.
On the positive side, we’ve applied for (thanks to Cindy Boaen) AND RECEIVED a Payroll Protection Plan loan from the SBA. More on that later!