Pastor Bruce sent the following email to the church on November 25, 2020:
Dear Grace Family,
For the past several weeks, Mary Ann Giampapa and her team, have been monitoring, with some alarm, the increasing rates of positive testing in Madison County and the surrounding area. The Jackson-Madison County General Hospital is currently at, or near capacity in treating COVID cases.
Yesterday, our Bishop, William (Bill) McAlilly issued advice to churches located in areas where positivity rates are over 5% to cease gathering for worship until the rate declines. Currently, the positivity rating for Madison County (last seven day average) was 14.7%
In view of this, I recommended to Mary Ann Giampapa that the leadership of Grace (as elected by Charge Conference on 11/8/20) be presented with these facts and my recommendation that we follow our Bishop’s advise to suspend worship until the rates come down to 5% or below. The leadership was unanimous in supporting the decision to suspend.
While all of us hated to have to suspend worship again, common sense dictates, for now, it is the wise decision to make. Effective immediately, Grace will cease to gather in corporate worship while looking forward to re-opening at the earliest and safest time. With this decision, we can expect this suspension to last through the Seasons of Advent and Christmas.
I, the staff, and volunteers will continue to offer “live stream” broadcast of worship each Sunday as we are able. Please know that everyone involved in this decision regrets this action, but the safety of all of you must be our primary concern, especially in light of our Bishop’s advice.
This can truly be a special time for all of us to savor the peace and joy of Christmas. Our Lord Jesus will draw closer to us now, as He always does, during times of crisis. My prayers are with you all for a blessed Thanksgiving. As always, please feel free to call me for any concerns or pastoral needs you may have.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Bruce
