ST. FRANCIS EPISCOPAL CHURCH
  • Home
    • FAQ
  • Who We Are
    • Clergy and Staff
  • What We Do
    • Worship
    • Service
    • Sermons
    • Children and Families
    • Discipleship
    • Music & the Arts
    • Pastoral Care
    • Weddings
    • Baptism
    • Funerals
  • Experience For Yourself
    • Sundays
    • Programs
    • Membership
    • New To St. Francis?
    • Participate in Worship
  • Calendar
  • Give
  • Mailing List
  • Parish News

Letter from BP. Barker

9/30/2020

 
Picture
LETTER FROM BP. BARKER
 
Yesterday we received a letter from the Bishop outlining new guidelines for safely returning to in-person worship. I know so many of us have been longing for a return to the sanctuary and some sort of normalcy in church, and this isn't a complete roll-back -- we will still need to social distance and wear masks as we have been -- but there is a change in the data we are tracking and the metric we are using to establish the safe threshold of cases for gathering together on Sunday. 

The new number we will go by is a 7-day average of local cases per 100,000 population, and if that number is below 20, we are permitted to worship together in the church. This is actually good news for us, because as of yesterday our counties total 8.76 cases per 100,000, so unless something really big changes here, we will re-open Oct 4th and I really think we will be able to stay open from then on. (That's my hope, anyway.)

Here's the link to the Healthy Nebraska website and you can check it out for yourself -- www.healthynebraska.org. Be sure to "uncheck" Lancaster County and "check" Banner, Box Butte, Morrill, and Scotts Bluff Counties to see our number (bold black line is the 7-day average). 

My deepes thanks to everyone for your continued support and prayers and notes and emails and calls and just generally hanging in there with us as we work through the most unusual, unexpected, and frustrating time in my life in the church. You are all amazing! 

Never forget that when this is all over, this building will be here and there will be church and there will be communion and there will be singing and there will be hope and joy and laughter and fellowship (cookies!) This church will survive and this church will grow again. I know it. 

Blessings,

Fr. Mark+

Comments are closed.

    Rev. Erin Rath

    Check in here for weekly announcements.

    Picture

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2018
    November 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017

Contact Us

St. Francis Episcopal Church
14 E 20th Street

Scottsbluff, NE 69361
​P.O. Box 1201


stfrancis@allophone.com

​(308) 632-4626

Service Times

Sundays 9 AM
Wednesdays 6 PM


Quick Links

Children and Families
Sundays
Clergy & Staff
Programs
Give
Parish Profile
Website by DBO Digital Marketing
  • Home
    • FAQ
  • Who We Are
    • Clergy and Staff
  • What We Do
    • Worship
    • Service
    • Sermons
    • Children and Families
    • Discipleship
    • Music & the Arts
    • Pastoral Care
    • Weddings
    • Baptism
    • Funerals
  • Experience For Yourself
    • Sundays
    • Programs
    • Membership
    • New To St. Francis?
    • Participate in Worship
  • Calendar
  • Give
  • Mailing List
  • Parish News