Recently I published guidelines for restoring public worship here in the Diocese of Central Florida. I am grateful for the outstanding job Canon Scott Holcombe did in pulling together the best resources possible, as well as for his work with me on the development of our published guidelines for Phase I of restoring public worship. These guidelines were developed with a significant amount of consultation with the Presiding Bishop’s Office, legal and medical experts, Episcopal Dioceses from around the country and other churches.
Two Biblical considerations have deeply informed the guidelines we have established:
1. We believe that it is our Biblical obligation to share the Gospel with all people. That means, in part, that an invitation to public worship is just that: it is an invitation which opens our doors to the general public to join us in worship which is not an invitation-only event. The church is not a club for the baptized. Instead we must do all that we can to make room for anyone who wishes to come, welcoming all people in the Name of Christ. We want our churches to be a place where people hear the Good News of Jesus.
2. We believe that God has called us to love our neighbors. This means that we welcome people into our congregations in a way that practically reflects the Gospel which we believe, expressing love for Christ and our love for our neighbor. People should not be afraid to come to our services because they might catch the coronavirus. This means our policies for opening our churches should make provisions for the most vulnerable, the fearful and the anxious. Any reopening policy that does not make room for those at risk and those in distress does not accurately reflect the spirit of Jesus.
Choosing to wear a face protector in a public service of worship is an act of welcome and care. By wearing a face protector, we are making room for those who would not come unless such a requirement was in place. Not to require a face protector limits in an unnecessary way those who can attend. People wear these face protectors as a way to both shield themselves from infection and to ensure that they do not inadvertently infect others. By contrast, choosing not to wear a face protector in a public service of worship is demonstrating that my freedom of choice is more important than both my own health and the health of someone else. This does not seem to me like loving your neighbor. Additionally, we have no way of limiting those who come to church to the obviously healthy. There is the possibility that those who do attend a public service of worship could include those who, unknown to themselves, appear healthy but are asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19.
Moreover, a congregation’s commitment to wear face protectors during worship makes room for the widest possible participation for our clergy, many of whom are older and, therefore, are considered more at risk. We have a number of clergy who, because they are past retirement age or because of a pre-existing condition, could not come and serve their own congregations if those congregations were not wearing face protectors and observing physical distancing. Speaking personally, while I am healthy and without pre-existing conditions, my 93-year-old father-in-law with COPD lives with my wife and me. So, I would be one of the ones who could not attend a church if that church did not observe these protocols. Why? Because I could not, and would not, take the risk of perhaps catching the virus and passing it on to my father-in-law. For him catching the virus could well be fatal. The only alternative I would have (if I were to still come to that church) would be to check into a hotel and quarantine myself for two weeks before I could come home. I imagine that this scenario could be true for some of our fellow parishioners as well.
As a nation, we have become so polarized that we do not see the virus as a common enemy. Instead, we prefer to see those who disagree with us as the enemy. This is the arena that has been created for us by our political climate. This is dark and tragic and, sadly, has become the platform on which many of us discuss questions of virus prevention.
By contrast, my prayer is that our churches could demonstrate that because we love Jesus we offer a well-planned and compassionate welcome for any who would come. My hope is that we would go to the Scriptures, learn together, and ask God to show us how we are to love our neighbors and in welcoming people into our church buildings we would express the love of Christ.
Bishop
1017 E. Robinson St.
Orlando, FL 32801-2023