Please enjoy the Diocesan eNews for October.
Pastoral Letter: Update Regarding In-Person Gathering (from Bishop Doug)
Pastoral Letter: Update Regarding In-Person Gathering
24 September 2020
Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings,
Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Light for all people!
As of 13 September, we have lived with the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic for 6 months. Those consequences include, as of today in the United States, 7,135,603 persons who have tested positive with COVID 19 and 206,482 deaths due to COVID 19. Other consequences include the loss of employment for millions which has led the loss of health insurance not to mention the challenges for many trying to navigate online learning for their children as well as working remotely themselves or caring for a loved one in a care facility. Along the way, our missioners and I have done our best to consult with others about best practices, develop our Plan for Regathering for In-person Worship initially adopted in mid-May and identify platforms to enhance the information available regarding all of the data and measurements used to determine a way forward for us.
In late March, I convened a Diocesan Disaster / Crisis Team comprised of Canon Terri Bays, Canon Carol Bianchini, Canon Christopher Hillak, Canon Michelle Walker and Bishop Frank Gray. We began meeting weekly via ZOOM on 6 April. I want to thank each of them for the difficult and challenging work they have done and continue to do on our behalf. In consultation with other dioceses in Province V and the wider church, we developed the Plan for Regathering for In-person Worship. Thanks to Fr.TJ Freeman, serving as Rector of Trinity Fort Wayne, in July, we were directed to the Harvard website which helped us adopt the Determination Color Code based on the number of cases per 100K in each of our counties in addition to the State of Indiana Dashboard.
We know more in September regarding the spread of COVID 19 than we did in June which makes it possible to adapt our initial plan for Regathering. The Episcopal Dioceses in Michigan began allowing 25 % of full capacity for indoor In-person Worship, which includes the protocols of physical distancing, wearing masks, using hand sanitizer along with all the other protocols in our Diocesan Plan. In consultation with our Clergy, with the support and affirmation of our Diocesan Council and with the support of our Standing Committee, I have decided to implement the “ Michigan Adaptation” for all of our faith communities in Northern Indiana. In doing so, I want to invoke the Anglican principle, all may, none must, some should. Implementing this adaptation assumes that the clergy, wardens, and vestry of our 33 faith communities have prepared and submitted a Plan for Regathering for my review and approval. As of this writing, 24 faith communities have submitted a plan. Some of our faith communities will move to implement this adaptation this coming Sunday. Others may choose to take some time to make sure all things necessary are in place before gathering in person. What is most important to underscore is that each of our faith communities needs to listen to local officials, following their advice which may include closing if advised to do so.
For those faith communities who choose to move to indoor In-person Worship, it is also important to underscore that this next phase should be a Hybrid Phase…both in-person and virtual worship should be offered so that everyone connected to your faith community may continue to gather.
As I said earlier, we have learned some things since March and April. First, as we moved out of lock down, the potential for achieving a 14-day decline in some of our more populated counties is virtually impossible. Second, more testing is available in our state which gives us better sense of the positivity rate, another factor in determining the spread of the virus. Third, the state has assumed responsibility for contact tracing which initially was the responsibility of each county.
Bishop Andy Doyle of the Diocese of Texas sent a letter to the clergy in mid-June. He discussed several important topics: exposure and moral leadership. In terms of exposure, he quoted leading epidemiologist from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Michael Osterholm who said, “Exposure as a dose is a combination of time and amount.” Exposure = time and amount. Therefore, physical distancing, mask and brevity are essential for congregations in buildings. This means as you do gather, we believe you need to keep the service short, between 30 and 45 minutes.
Regarding moral leadership, Bishop Doyle pointed out that early in the pandemic, we were presented with two strong binary options: lockdown or do nothing. We have come to understand that moral leadership requires protocols for everyone’s safety. Hence, that is why developing your Plan for Regathering is essential and that we may need to adapt our protocols, as the circumstances change. Bishop Doyle then shared another quote from Dr. Osterholm, “We have to learn not only to die with this virus, which tragically we’ve had to do, but we also have to learn how to live with it.”
So, my friends, what is required of all of us is wisdom, attention to implementing the Plan for Regathering in your context, directed by your clergy, wardens and vestry and moral leadership.
If you have any questions, please contact me or one of our missioners. We stand ready to continue to support you in any way that we can.
I conclude, quoting Bishop Andy Doyle, in his letter to the clergy. “This is hard and difficult work. It is very difficult to do this work when your peers are not making the same choices. It is challenging when parishioners push and pull at you. I want to re-emphasize that we will support you if you open now, or later, if you close due to community spread, and when you are defending protocols against parishioner pushback.” These sentiments are also true for the wardens and vestry members of our faith communities as they try make the best decisions possible.
Be assured of my prayer and support. This comes with a brother’s love…
Doug
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks
VIII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana
Diocesan eNews - September 2020
Please enjoy the Diocesan eNews for September.
September 10, 2020 - Determination Letter
My Dear Kindred in Christ,
With our counties still adjusting to the consequences of school re-openings of various types, our COVID-numbers remain high. The bright spots on this otherwise shadowed horizon include St. Joseph County coming down out of the Red Zone and Marshall County coming within shouting distance of Yellow (watch your numbers the next 2 days—you just might make it!). Also inspiring are some of the plans emerging for thoughtful and creative indoor worship within the newly adjusted guidelines.
By the way, if you visit the state COVID dashboard at https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/2393.htm, you’ll notice a new tab entitled “County Metrics.” This tab lets you know the 7-day positivity rate for your county, a rate that can indicate how likely it is that folks who are infected are actually getting tested. The WHO and other health organizations have indicated that a positivity rate of under 5% is an indicator that testing is sufficiently robust to allow for confidence that a region has met reopening criteria. We will consider this information when looking at “borderline cases,” such as the question above of when Marshall County (with an excellent positivity rate of 1.65%!) crosses into the Yellow Zone.
Terri
The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison
September 3, 2020 Determination Letter
My Dear Kindred in Christ,
COVID numbers remain high this week, with even more of our counties in the Orange zone, though a few (notably Elkhart and Lake counties) in lower parts of that zone than they'd occupied for many months before. I would draw your attention to particularly high numbers reported for September 2 in several counties. Whether that is a result of particular events or a reflection of testing patterns remains to be seen—this uncertainty is why we try to look at averages and trends.
Indoor gathering remains a challenge, especially because infection numbers, and therefore plans, can change on short notice. We appreciate your steadfastness and resourcefulness in responding to these changing circumstances, especially as we prepare for the cooler and then the downright cold months to come. If your faith community is taking a more cautious approach than you would like, please keep in mind that the more cautious approaches allow for more safe and consistent service planning. Your patience and flexibility make all the difference.
Loosening of the restrictions on outdoor gathering in the orange zone has allowed a number of parking lot services to take place in areas that have not been able to gather in person for months. We appreciate the amount of care and consideration that has gone into insuring that all the other guidelines (distancing, masks, cleaning and shortening of services, just to name a few!) have been implemented at these services. Who knew that our clergy and lay leaders would be developing expertise in the technical requirements for am/fm broadcasting!
May your faithfulness to God and to one another be a blessing to you in the days ahead!
Terri
The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison
August 27, 2020 Determination Letter
27 August 2020
Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings,
Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Light for all people!
I want to begin this Pastoral Letter by thanking you for your steadfast faith and witness during the COVID 19 Pandemic. We are now into our 24th week since arriving at the consensus to suspend all in-person worship on 13 March 2020. While we have leaned into the experience of Virtual Worship with all its challenges, like you, I long for the opportunity to gather safely for in-person worship. I especially want to thank our missioners for their good and faithful ministry in helping us adapt...from plotting the daily COVID 19 positive cases for each county to providing the most current communication and informative infographics to preparing for our two virtual conventions this fall...our common life as the Episcopal Church in Northern Indiana continues!
We know more about managing our lives safely in this pandemic now than we did in March. In addition to the 4 criteria in our Pastoral Plan for Regathering, we also made use of the color coding formula of Green (<1 case per 100K); Green -Yellow(5 or less new cases per day per 100K); Yellow (>1 and < or equal to 10 new cases per day per 100K); Orange (>10 and < or equal to 25 new cases per day per 100K) and Red (> 25 new cases per day per 100K) to further assist us in determining the possibility of in-person worship county by county. We have had three ordination services which have helped identify what additional best practices need to be in place for in-person worship. Adhering to protocols for gathering safely for in-person worship like ours, the dioceses in Michigan have allowed for in-person worship using the lower number of 25 % of full legal capacity OR seating with 6’ between household groups.
Taking what we have learned into account, the missioners and I offered the “Michigan adaption”for consideration during our Clergy and Lay Leader Zoom Call yesterday, 26 August. After considerable discussion, most of the clergy and lay leaders supported adopting the “Michigan adaptation” for our diocese. This will require some additional work in reaching a specific number, given the size of each of your worship spaces. However, it could make it possible for more of us to begin gathering outdoors or indoors for in-person worship as we approach September. I want to underscore that how and when this adaptation begins in your faith community will be decided by the clergy and lay leaders of your faith community.
The infographic below describes,in greater detail,the number for indoor worship, given your county’s color determination as well as outdoor worship for your county, given the color determination.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call on me.
Every blessing,
Doug
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks
VIII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana
August 20, 2020 Determination Letter
My Dear Kindred in Christ,
Even as our statewide numbers remain high, the situation in some of our counties has started to improve. We give thanks for the role your vigilance has played, both in keeping those numbers lower than they would otherwise have been and for bringing them back down after a spike. May the slight downward turn we have seen in recent days continue! In light of recent numbers, we have two requests to make of you.
The first is to ask your county health departments whether the numbers for large residential schools that do their own testing (universities and private boarding schools) are being included in your county's statistics. We know, for example, that statistics for tests done at the University of Notre Dame are not being included in the St. Joseph County statistics. This is worrisome, since those students do potentially infect faculty and staff (not to mention employees of businesses near the campus), even more so than, say, inmates in our state prisons potentially infect prison staff who then go out into the community. Knowing whether the county numbers reported to the state include these institutions can help us more accurately gauge the risk in your area.
The second request is that you provide us with feedback on how the various steps you are taking are working out. As we consider the effectiveness of our guidelines, it can be helpful to know what turned out better than expected or gave rise to some unforeseen good, what works just fine, what requires a work-around, and what needs to be re-thought. Because we realize that all these precautions take time and energy, and that people are impatient with the restraints, we want to make sure that what we're doing is, as far as we can tell, actually doing the work we intend for it to do.
May God grant you steadfastness, strength and courage in all you do,
Terri
The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison
https://ednin.org/ednin-blog/2020/8/20/august-20-determination-letter
August 13, 2020 Determination Letter
Dear Kindred in Christ,
Things are looking a bit worse this week than last. One more county has moved into the Orange zone, and only one county has actually improved its situation (Yay, Steuben!). Please continue to pray for the courage and safety of all those who are forced into harm’s way by the necessity of their work and/or by economic hardship. Know that your steadfastness and your creativity in providing for the pastoral needs of your congregations are bright spots in my week and that I am always happy to work with you to find ways to turn your “crazy ideas” into a sustainable reality.
As Dr. Fauci said to the House of Bishops this past Monday, one of the most important things we can do as faith leaders in these days is to help our people avoid getting stuck in despair. It is natural to experience grief and even depression in times like these. It’s when we decide that things will never get better, however, that we cast aside sensible precautions and make things worse. The more you can encourage your faith communities to practice hopefulness, playfulness, and even a certain amount of childishness in addition to the ever-needful reverence and compassion, the stronger and more resilient you will equip them to be.
Blessings,
Terri
The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison
August 9, 2020 Determination Letter
My Dear Kindred in Christ,
It has been another rough week. Only a few of our counties have moved back down into Yellow-Falling. Almost all of our counties have either moved into the Orange zone or remained there. If your county is one where children are returning to in-person schooling, you can anticipate your numbers getting worse in the coming weeks. Pray for the safety of students, teachers and staff as they re-enter their buildings.
In the midst of this, please remember that your patience and forbearance are preventing the people in your faith community from being punished with illness for the poor judgment being exercised by others in your area. We quite naturally focus on the number of deaths, but the long-lasting symptoms experienced by COVID survivors are also potentially devastating.
For those of you who have come up with both innovative and time-honored ways of meeting the spiritual needs of your people at this time—thank you. Thank you for your deep reflection on what it means to be faithful, what it means to show devotion to the body of Christ in times like these. May the fruitfulness of your endeavors be like zucchini in August!
And for those of you who are not feeling quite so creative, who are worn down by the inability to meet the desires of your faith community—hang in there. You are not alone in yearning for some sort of consolation. Consider the spiritual practices that have lifted you up in the past. May they refresh you like a bowl of ice cream at the end of a long, hot day!
Blessings,
Terri
The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison
July 23, 2020 Determination Letter
My Dear Kindred in Christ,
Since the beginning of the quarantine, we have spoken about our guidelines as applying primarily to gatherings of "more than 10 persons." The 10-person distinction is one that the CDC uses in its description of a "medium intensity social distancing strategy" and Governor Holcomb used in his Back on Track Indiana plan as the cut-off between gatherings that were/were not allowed in Stage 1. In this diocese, the bishop's pastoral response when the case numbers are high, but certain time-sensitive services (such as weddings, funerals and ordinations) need to take place, has been to allow those services to proceed as long as they have fewer than 10 in-person participants.
10 is not a magic number. Instead it is a balance point between pastoral need and collective risk. 10 people are relatively easy to space and manage. Where several participants already share the same household, "10" might actually mean 12 or 13. Keep in mind the question of spacing and management, we ask that you not interpret "10" as more than 15.
When it is appropriate to host an Under-10 gathering depends both on the nature of the event and your county's risk zone:
Green, Green-Yellow and Yellow-Falling—Indoor and Outdoor Gathering Permitted, including both Under- and Over-10 Participants, subject to regathering guidelines.
Yellow-Rising—Outdoor Gathering—Outdoor Gathering Permitted, Indoor Gatherings limited to Under 10 Participants.
Orange—Outdoor Gathering of Over 10 Participants Not Permitted, Indoor Gatherings of Under 10 Participants Permitted only with Written Permission from the Bishop.
Red—No In-person Gathering Permitted, with Exceptions for gatherings of Under 10 Participants Permitted only with Written Permission from the Bishop.
As with so many of our guidelines, the issue of when an Under-10 Participant Gathering is called-for requires careful discernment. Because risk does not simply disappear when only 10 people are around, all other safety measures must remain in place.
On a different topic, several of you have come to me with discrepancies between the recent numbers in my spreadsheet and those you see on the state dashboard on a given day. Because there were more of these than could be explained by way of my mis-typing, I contacted the Indiana Health Department and one of the relevant County Health Departments to discover whether the numbers were being updated between the time I was recording them around noon each day and the time when you were checking my spreadsheet, up to a week later.
What I was told is that the numbers are sometimes adjusted downward within the day or two after the original posting. Common reasons for this include the realizations during subsequent contact tracing that one person underwent more than one test for the same case of coronavirus or that someone was tested in one county but actually resided in another (reporting follows the county of residence, not testing). When such situations (and others) are noticed, the state dashboard is updated.
Knowing this, I could go back and re-check the numbers for the whole week before sending out the determination on Thursdays. Re-checking 7 days of data for 15 counties, however, would both significantly delay your access to the determination and not avoid discrepancies in the data for the most recent days. I will, therefore, re-check the data for counties where a slight change would make a difference in the determination (for example, where rising numbers would shift to falling, or where a county has moved just over the boundary into a different risk zone).
The numbers, of course, are just one factor among of the pastoral concerns you must weigh as you prepare for services each week. We are always happy to consult with you about special cases and particular challenges. We give thanks to God for the effort you have been and continue investing in the safety of God's people.
Blessings,
Terri
The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison
Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx