An Update on our Pandemic Strategy

I want to be honest with you. I desperately want this pandemic to be over. I dream of being back in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings and catching up with all of you between services. Though I am grateful for all the hard work that so many of you put into our online services, I would much rather put that same work into something we could do while gathering in that familiar physical space.

The way we get there, though, is not by wishing the virus away or ignoring the persistent threat it poses to each of us. We will get there by doing everything we can to put an end to this pandemic. Our council, under the guidance of both the ELCA and the Illinois Department of Public Health, created the guidelines we currently have because we want to get back to normal quickly and safely. The guidelines are not meant to restrict us. They exist so that we can move gently away from the pandemic that has held us back for too long.

As a reminder, all small groups are welcome to resume meeting at St. Mark. Some have already begun to do so, and it is such a joy to see folks gathering together again. To gather safely, though, we must all follow the guidelines which are designed to keep you and your neighbors safe. Those guidelines include signing a waiver and taking attendance, as well as wearing facemasks and keeping our distance. In addition, just like we have always done, groups that wish to gather on St. Mark property need to schedule through the church office, and your council has final say on whether a group can or cannot meet on church property.

As with any congregation in the ELCA, worship services at St. Mark only occur under the approval of your pastors and council. Right now, the two worship options we have approved are the online worship services and Wednesday Evening Worship in the sanctuary. New online services are available every Sunday at 8:00am on the St. Mark YouTube channel. I am happy to announce that we are aiming to also begin outdoor Sunday worship services by the end of August. Until then, we worship as we are able, knowing that an empty lot on Sunday morning does not mean we are not united.

At this time, we have not received any requests for additional worship opportunities. If you have any concerns or questions about the plan we have in place, I would urge you to contact our council through Kraig Reichwald, the president of the congregation. His email address is reichwaldk@yahoo.com.

Everything we are doing, both at St. Mark and in the other areas of our lives, is not simply for our own sake. When I wear a mask, I do so not just to protect myself, but to keep my potential germs from infecting someone far more vulnerable than me. We remain cautious in this pandemic precisely because we care about one another, and we wish to see an end to the threat. As followers of Christ, our actions should not be self-serving, but rather we reflect the humility of Christ. I want to leave you with some words from the Apostle Paul, which I have found helpful in this time: 

“If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:1-11)

 On Behalf of Your Church Council,

Pastor Chad McKenna