Covid

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Update on our Covid-19 policies

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The Vestry has decided that starting on Sunday, September 11th, our 9:30 service and its activities will become mask optional. This change is due to now universal vaccine eligibility. Everyone 6 months and older who wants to be vaccinated can finally access the vaccine. The last group to become eligible was the under-5s, who could get their first dose in mid-June. Depending on how quickly families were able to get that first dose and which vaccine they received, children in this age group started to become fully vaccinated in early August, with many more coming up to full vaccination throughout August and September.

Please click “Read More” to read the entire update on our Covid policies.

Vestry Report for March 2022

The month of March is already a transitional time since it ushers in the first day of spring and leads to longer, lighter days. This year, March has been even more full of transitions for our church community, in addition to our local, national, and global societies. So much is happening so fast, and we are trying our best to keep up. It is a time of mixed emotions, and perhaps even conflicting or confusing feelings. We want to embrace the positive changes with enthusiasm and hope, all while we continue to keep ourselves as informed and educated as possible. We recognize that this time requires a great deal of emotional adjustment from each of us.

Masking Update

Thursday, March 10, 2022

Dear friends in Christ,

I am writing you today to talk about upcoming changes to our Covid protocols. As you have likely heard, the state will be removing the mask mandate on March 12th in response to the continuing good news regarding Covid cases and hospitalizations across the state. As of today, Lane County has moved into the low-risk category according to the CDC guidelines and we continue to see the seven-day average of cases drop. These improvements do not mean that the Covid pandemic is over. Whether this is a new normal or a calm between storms, we do not yet know.

Click “Read More” to read Bingham’s entire letter regarding masking.

Vestry Report for December and January

When the Vestry met in mid-December, the Omicron variant had just appeared in the US. As it was still new, we were in that unfortunately familiar “watch and wait” situation. We began our meeting as usual with a reflection from Thomas Merton about how (at Christmas specifically) Christ comes uninvited into a world that has no room for him at all. Merton calls this world “a demented inn,” and we were struck by the intensity and seeming cynicism of that label. What Merton calls attention to though with his harsh language are

Read the full Vestry report for December and January by clicking “Read More".”

Vestry Report for November

Just as Advent is a season of hopeful expectation, so we in the Vestry eagerly watch and wait for the completion of the many projects currently happening at St. Mary’s. In the midst of the growing darkness and the freezing nights, we find light and warmth in the promise of our eventual re-gathering together in our improved building space. In addition to the completion of the ventilation system upgrade and new lighting in the sanctuary, we are looking forward to the removal and relocation of bats that have been living within certain areas of our walls for many years. Their presence has mostly been peaceful, but the work on the ventilation system has revealed the extent to which they have made themselves a little too comfortable inside our walls. They will be gently but sternly pushed to take up residence elsewhere, and there will be some new alternative dwellings nearby so they won’t be forced to travel far to find shelter.

Read the full Vestry report for November by clicking “Read More.”

Zoom Services at St. Mary's: A New Kind of Listening

For me, one of the miracles of the past year has been Zoom services at St. Mary’s. Since the beginning of COVID, we have gathered nearly 200 times online, for Wednesday and Friday morning prayer, and evening prayer. (In addition, the Spanish Zoom service meets each week.)

At first, I was skeptical. Can people really feel the energy and presence of God and of other people on a computer screen?

Read Christine Marie’s full Listening Hearts reflection by clicking “Read More.”

Vestry Report for Fall 2021

Our reflection from Thomas Merton that began our August meeting focused on uncertainty. Merton states bluntly: “I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.” His words feel uncannily appropriate to our current moment as we transition from the end of summer to the beginning of fall. We have no idea what is going to happen with the pandemic. We are fatigued and frustrated, and we cannot see the road ahead. Merton continues, writing that he wants to follow God’s will even as he doubts his ability to discern what that is. He concludes by saying that he believes the desire to please God does in fact please God, and so he strives to cultivate that desire. This is the glimmer of hope that Merton offers us—even when we can’t see the way forward, we must still seek to find and follow God’s will. It is the desire that matters. We don’t know what God will ask of us in this coming season, but if we continue to desire to desire to follow him, he will lead us in the right direction, as he has always done. We can cling to that confidence as we forge ahead.

The Vestry is St. Mary’s elected governing body. They meet monthly throughout the year. Please click “Read More” to read their entire update that was included in the Fall 2021 Bellringer.

A COVID Update - A Change in our Masking Policy

COVID cases are spiking locally. On Friday, July 30th, Lane County moved into the Center for Disease Control’s highest risk category for COVID spread. Models from the State of Oregon show that cases will continue to increase through the middle of August. The Oregon Health Authority is asking that all Oregonians, regardless of vaccine status, wear masks indoors in all public settings to help slow down the rate of COVID’s spread.

Therefore, following the new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Oregon Health Authority, and the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon, masks are again required indoors in all spaces at St. Mary’s, regardless of vaccination status.

Click “Read More” to read the entire statement.

An Update on Reopening

Dear Friends in Christ,

This week, the Governor rescinded nearly all legal requirements for capacity limits, physical distancing, and masking. In light of the Governor’s new order, I want to share with you the changes we will be making for our ministry groups, community groups, and for our worship services.

We are in what may be the trickiest part of COVID to navigate. Although we all long for COVID to be fully over, there is great difference of opinion on how close we are to that point. Some of you have expressed to me joy that the state has removed nearly all legal safety requirements and you are ready for St. Mary’s to remove all restrictions. Some of you have expressed concern that it is still too soon. Navigating that difference as a community will not be easy. I ask you to have grace with you fellow parishioners who think about these matters differently and to trust that they are acting in good faith.

Click “Read More” to read all about our most recent adjustments as we reopen more fully.

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On Reopening

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Dear friends in Christ,

We look forward to welcoming you back to worship together in person!

We know that some are past ready and some are not quite ready. I encourage you to have grace for your fellow parishioners as we navigate this time.

Please click “Read More” to read Bingham’s entire letter to the parish on reopening.

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Vestry Report for Pentecost Bellringer

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“In this season of anticipation and waiting, we have decided to begin each Vestry meeting with a discussion of a short passage by Thomas Merton. We see this as a way of focusing on our spiritual growth. In March, we reflected on how we cannot explain everything, and how we shouldn’t always try to find answers. Sometimes we must sit with the unknown and with “the abyss of darkness” at our core. In light of the pandemic, Merton’s words reverberate loudly, especially his exhortation to let go of our desire to understand why and to embrace the ways we encounter God in our vast interior selves.”

Click “read more” to read the entire Vestry report.

Happy Pentecost

“The Holy Spirit is about life. In Hebrew, Greek, and Latin the word for spirit and the word for breath are the same. In the ancient story of creation, God breathed life into Adam, God gave him Spirit. Just as breathing is necessary for us to live physically, the Spirit is necessary for us to live spiritually. When the Spirit is mentioned in scripture, it is about giving life, about empowering, about liberating people from death and destruction. Living spiritually is about a life attuned to the life-giving divine action at work in this world. And it is about helping others do the same, allowing for the flourishing of all of humanity and creation.”

Click “Read more” to read Bingham’s entire Pentecost reflection.

Episcopal Campus Ministry 2020 in Review

I began as interim chaplain in December of 2019. From January to March I worked to get to know the students, the house, and The Student Food Pantry. At the start of the year we had four student residents, Tatiana, Colman, Jepry, and Leslie. On Thursdays I invited local parishioners and Episcopal Campus Ministry (ECM) Board member to prepare meals and share in fellowship with the students and I invited local clergy to celebrate the Eucharist. This was a great way for us to connect with our local Episcopal Churches and to hear from different parishioners and priests about their faith journeys. For the Student Food Pantry, there was lots of hands-on learning and new connections to be made as I took on Chaplain Doug’s role of oversight. And then COVID-19 arrived.

Vestry Report for January

Can you believe it’s already February? Since January flew by somehow, the Vestry wanted to send a quick update about where we are as we start this new year and what we are planning to do in 2021. We hope that 2021 will bring the eventual end to our pandemic way of life, but we also know that the year will have its own unexpected challenges. It might even be more difficult in certain ways as we experience the ripple-effect of last year’s financial strain, and we come to understand more fully the toll the pandemic has taken on our social, emotional, and spiritual well-being. While we move forward with a mixture of faith and caution, there truly is much to be thankful for. In that spirit, we want to acknowledge both how much we accomplished in 2020 and how well-equipped we are to confront 2021.

Vestry Report for September/October Bellringer

By the time you receive this report, St. Mary’s will have had two-plus weeks of in-person outdoor services in addition to our “bring-your-own-everything” Annual Picnic. These mark the gradual steps we’re taking to see each other in person again, as we near the end of summer and the start of fall. We hope that the summer has been a peaceful time for you, as it has for many of us, and we have been grateful for the small things, like the growing of our gardens and house plants, the warm weather and sun-filled days, the hikes and time spent in Oregon’s outdoor bounty. These past two months have been an opportunity to assess our response to the pandemic during the spring and to reevaluate as we look to the coming year and to more sustainable solutions. We’ve been shifting from a reactionary, temporary mindset into familiarity, routine, and real acceptance that this is how we live now.

Where Two or Three Are Gathered, I Am There

Until recently, going to “church” has meant walking into our building at 13th and Pearl, and gathering with you, my beloved community. After several months of social isolation because of COVID, I began to suspect that church, as we knew it, was over. Now I am beginning to understand that church is not the building, but the beloved community. The people. You and me. In the past weeks, here are some of new ways I have experienced “church.”

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