Renewed COVID Guidance

Posted: August 11, 2021 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Renewed COVID Guidance

As United Methodists, we are people committed to John Wesley’s first rule of doing no harm.  

We thought we were moving beyond the pandemic. News reports tell us that we are not.

The risk of novel or breakthrough infection from the Delta variant of Covid-19 gives us all reason to evaluate our practices of safety and prevention, both vaccinated and unvaccinated alike.  

When the TWKUMC Covid-19 Task Force was assembled and first met, one thing that the team agreed to acknowledge was the fluidity of this pandemic. They affirmed the phrase “when we know better, we do better.” 

Based on the CDC’s most recent best practices encouraging all people to mask when together indoors, we again offer the guidelines developed and distributed by the TWKUMC Conference in 2020 as current best practices to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.

I recommend that your churches follow these guidelines at this time. 

We know this is not where we expected to be, however we are led by Wesley’s rule to do what is needed to keep our neighbor and ourselves safe.  

Over the past 18 months, we have proven we can adapt quickly to ensure our ministries continue safely. Along with masking and social distancing, we know vaccination is the most valuable tool available to combat this pandemic. 

The vaccines approved by the FDA for expanded use in this country are both safe and effective against severe illness and death from Covid-19. Currently, vaccination is approved for persons 12-years of age and older. 

Vaccines are available, at no charge, at most pharmacies and health departments, often without an appointment.  Globally, 4.21 billion vaccines have been given, with 347 million of those vaccinations given in the United States. If your congregation members have questions about receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, please encourage them to have an open conversation with their healthcare provider.  

We must all do our part to mitigate the spread of this new variant.

Peace be with you all in this season. Together we can stop this deadly disease.

Guidelines for In-Person Worship and Ministry during COVID-19

Vaccines and Vigilance Combat COVID-19 | Guest Blog by Richard Gentzler

Posted: February 8, 2021 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Vaccines and Vigilance Combat COVID-19 | Guest Blog by Richard Gentzler

We have learned much about ourselves, and our ability to adapt in the past year. The arrival of COVID-19 has had some impact on all of us, and tremendous impacts on many.

Our guest post today is from Richard H. Gentzler, Director of the Encore Ministry, part of the Golden Cross Foundation for the Tennessee Conference. Today, Richard brings us hope for a brighter tomorrow as well as words for the care of not just ourselves, but also our neighbor.

Bishop McAlilly

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Richard Gentzler

The Bible begins with God taking a formless, empty, and dark earth and creating life in God’s image and declaring everything good (Genesis 1:1-31). Since we are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), we understand ourselves to be co-creators with God. As co-creators, we can be grateful for the fact that the world’s scientists collaborated in new ways over a very short time frame to create several vaccines at an unprecedented speed. The development and rollout of the various vaccines to combat COVID-19 is a great benefit to humankind.

However, the virus is still present. We must keep in mind the pre-existing health conditions of many older adults. Even with the vaccines’ effectiveness and speed of their rollout, many more people will likely die in the months ahead. What continues to be of upmost importance for older adults’ safety over the next few months is a combination of mask wearing, social distancing, and getting vaccinated.

As church leaders, let us be vigilant and help older adults continue taking all necessary safety precautions. Encourage all members, including older adults, to get vaccinated. The State of Tennessee’s website, https://covid19.tn.gov/covid-19-vaccines/, informs Tennesseans about COVID-19 vaccinations and enables each person to sign up for special COVID-19 announcements from the state. Similar information for Kentuckians can be found at https://govstatus.egov.com/ky-covid-vaccine.

Share with your congregation the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines concerning daily activities during the COVID-19 pandemic:

  • In general, the more closely you interact with others and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread
  • If you engage in public activities, continue to protect yourself by practicing everyday preventive actions such as wearing a mask, social distancing, and washing or sanitizing your hands frequently
  • Keep these items on hand when venturing out: a face mask, tissue, and hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol

Prayerfully, the pandemic won’t last forever and we will begin a new normal. May God bless and guide you in your ministry by, with, and for older adults.

Grace and peace,

Richard H. Gentzler, Jr., D.Min.

Director, ENCORE Ministry

Guidance for Worship as COVID-19 cases increase

Posted: November 23, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Guidance for Worship as COVID-19 cases increase

In June, a task force was established for the purpose of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and giving guidance about in person worship.  The document they put forth assisted congregations in making wise decisions about proper protocols and protections.  You can re-familiarize yourself with it here.

As many congregations have resumed some in-person worship and activity, it has gone reasonably well and great appreciation for being together has been expressed.  After all, we are meant to be in fellowship with each other to worship our Lord and to serve our neighbors.

I am mindful that across the Memphis and Tennessee Conferences there have been ministers and laypersons who have contracted the virus.  We give thanks for the recovery of many and grieve the loss of life among us that has been experienced in our churches.

As I am sure you know, the virus is spiking in areas across our future Tennessee Western Kentucky Conference.  Therefore, I felt it wise to offer further guidance to assist your decision-making based on your context.

Some of our churches are making decisions about in-person worship based on data points such as the positivity rate, which is the percent of people being tested who receive a positive result.  

Across Tennessee and Kentucky, we are seeing average positivity rates of over 13%.  In Tennessee, 84% of our ICU beds are in use.  These increases warrant consideration of suspending in-person worship for a season. 

The wisdom of Dr. Scott Morris of our Church Health Center is that in-person worship should be suspended in favor of virtual worship for those communities with a positivity rate of 5% or higher. 

You may find the rates for Tennessee and Kentucky from local media.  You may also  visit https://covidactnow.org/ where data points at the state and county level including positivity rate, transmission rate, ICU usage and more are available.

As the numbers increase in each community, more precaution is necessary.  It is wise to await a 7- to 14-day trend of significant decrease in new cases before we relax safeguards.

If both clergy and lay leadership agree that it is safe to continue in person worship, it is important that each person in worship wears a mask.  This is because we know that not all people who have contracted the virus show symptoms, which increases unknown spread.

All of these actions, virtual worship, mask wearing, social distancing, additional surface cleaning and frequent hand washing help to reduce the strain on our healthcare systems, and by so doing we are loving our neighbor well – in a tangible way.

I acknowledge that there are some who dismiss the threat of COVID-19, and that there are more still who are very anxious in this time.  What we know to be true is this: 12 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 – almost 4% of the US population.  There have been 256,000 deaths due to COVID – about .08% of the US population.  On average, you have a 99.92% chance of not dying from COVID-19.  You don’t need to be paralyzed in fear.  However, most experts believe that these numbers can be decreased based upon the precautions we can take to reduce the spread of the virus.

Also, please take precautions during the Thanksgiving season to protect your family and friends.  Our family has determined it is best not to gather in person.

As I reflect on the hardships of so many during 2020, I pray for those among us who have suffered diminished health, economic hardships, loss of employment, and loss of life of family and friends.  I pray for our children, youth, and young adults who are struggling with their education as well as for those teachers and professors who are providing instruction in this environment.  I pray for parents who are strained with childcare concerns and workloads.  I pray for our healthcare workers as they provide care for those in their communities under stressful conditions.  I pray for our pastors as they shepherd their congregations through these difficult days while in search of the green pastures and still waters that will surely come.

I pray for all of us to live with a spirit of gratitude as we approach Thanksgiving, knowing that, for many of us, Thanksgiving will look very different this year.  I am grateful for the many ways you have continued to reach out in your neighborhoods to meet the needs of your friends and neighbors.