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