With One Body And One Spirit: Returning to Church 3.0
1. The theology, ethics & values which guide these recommendations are anchored in 1 Corinthians 12:26-27, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
In times of great difficulty, Christians are called to return to deeply-held values and practices, such as:
- Living in and for community (1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 13:20-21)
- Witnessing to the truth that sets us free (John 8:32)
- Humble service and ministry to those in need (Matthew 22:36-40)
- Self-sacrificial love for others (John 13:34-35)
- Living the Christian identity even when it goes against the social grain (John 15:18, Romans 12:2)
2. Our core guidelines from Returning to Church 2.0 have been retained. Vaccination rates are for those fully vaccinated, out of the total population. See references at the end of this document for fuller descriptions.
3. We discuss options for layered mitigations to increase the safety of gatherings when COVID risk goes up. Mitigations are actions people and communities can take to help reduce the likelihood of transmission and slow the spread of viruses like COVID-19. While there is no risk-free approach to gathering at this time, using multiple mitigations will provide additional protection: improving ventilation, reducing duration of gatherings, reducing the number of people, increasing physical distance, universal masking, safer choices for the riskiest activities, and vaccination expectations. We offer additional suggestions for mitigating risk among those church-specific activities that have been labeled higher risk.
4. We suggest a level of at most 50 new cases / 100,000 population per day as a “no go” level at which a community should undertake its strictest COVID protocols, in the absence of any government policy or ecclesiastical guidance superseding this recommendation. Your faith community may choose to move to its strictest protocols sooner, before your area reaches such an extremely high case rate.
5. We offer provisional definitions of some terms and best practices associated with them:
- Universal Masking
- Vaccination Requirements
- Risk Budget for Participants & Ministry Leaders
- Livestreaming vs. Hybrid Ministry
- Notification of COVID Exposure in the Congregation
6. As we have previously, we offer reference links and reliable sources.
Have you appreciated or benefited from our crisis response ministry with respect to the coronavirus?
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