Spring COVID-19 Update

by Pastor Amanda Nicol

The COVID Response Team met over email this past week. The team decided to shift their risk metric to align with the CDC’s new emphasis on the rate of hospitalizations in a community. COVID hospitalizations in Thurston County will be the church’s priority metric going forward; the higher the rate of hospitalizations, the more restrictions may be necessary. Thankfully, even though our county case rate is rising, our hospitalizations are remaining very low, and so the CDC currently classifies our county as low-risk.

Masks: One of our guiding values throughout this pandemic is inclusivity. Our very youngest children still do not have access to a vaccine. The Response Team has decided to continue requiring masks in worship as an act of solidarity with our families with very young children. We will continue to wear masks in worship until there is a vaccine available for children under 5, at which point we will make masks optional (if the county remains low-risk). Small groups (less than twenty people) are currently allowed to unmask when meeting in the church building.

Food: The team discerned that we are not ready yet to return to regular post-worship refreshments or potlucks. Instead we are going to ease back into fellowship with food by allowing refreshments at special events during the summer months. These events will be hosted outdoors until the mask requirement is lifted. The Response Team will reevaluate potlucks and post-worship coffee & cookies in the fall once the new pastoral team is in place.