March 13, 2020

Dear Friends:

Today has been a typical day in the time of a global pandemic. Things have changed almost hourly. The words of the day are “fluid” and “flexible”. Governor Tim Walz has declared an Emergency in the Time of Peace for Minnesota, and President Trump has declared an infectious disease emergency for the United States. I spent an hour on a webinar this morning with Bishop Brian Prior and many faith leaders from around the ECMN, discussing all of the facts and issues that we know so far about COVID 19. This afternoon I met with Senior Warden Tom Abts and the Rectors of St. Luke’s in Rochester and St. Paul’s in Winona. Our Vestry will meet this Sunday.

Here is what we have decided, after listening to the experts at Mayo Clinic, at the University of Minnesota, the CDC and World Health Organization. It is incumbent on all of us to work on “flattening the curve” of the effects of this virus. Also, the most vulnerable among us, the elderly, the ill, hourly workers, and those on the margins in society will be most affected by this. At Calvary, we serve Mayo patients, and we have as members Mayo physicians, nurses and researchers who must be with medically fragile people every day.

Therefore, Calvary Episcopal Church will immediately suspend all Sunday worship services [until further notice]. We will also suspend all weekly services; the Healing Service, Morning Prayer and Wednesday Holy Eucharist [until further notice].

The church office will be open from Monday – Friday as normal, but we ask parishioners to call with questions and to not “drop by” during the week. Your staff will be working. Linda Ortiz and Phil Malley will be in the office as will Rev. Beth. Stuart Gage will be working on cleaning the church, which will NOT be open as usual. Jennifer O’Neill will be working from home, and all staff will meet together every Wednesday at 10:00am in the office. We will not have volunteer coverage on Wednesdays or Fridays so you might need to leave messages on our voice mails. We will call you back. We ask parishioners to reschedule any meetings they might have planned at church during this time, and meet virtually or by phone. I ask you to be patient with these changes, and help us all to work together. I also ask you to remember that your financial gifts continue to sustain our budget, and pay our staff, even in these days.

All Twelve Step groups: AA, Al-Anon, NA and OA will meet as usual. The attendees will be cleaning the tables and chairs that they use. We will re-evaluate this decision in a week, but recognize that those groups are essential for many people.

There are several resource web sites for your use. Today’s ECMN Webinar can be found at www.episcopalmn.org/covid19-response. You can watch the Webinar and find several links for resources there. This Sunday, the National Cathedral in Washington DC will be livestreaming a service and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will be preaching. That service begins at 10:00am CDT and can be found at: www.cathedral.org or facebook.com/WNCathedral. St. Mark’s Cathedral in Minneapolis will also be livestreaming a service, and that can be found at www.ourcathedral.org.

St. Luke’s and St. Paul’s Winona will be following similar procedures as Calvary. Every faith community is making unique decisions as to whether they will open for worship or not, depending upon their own context.

I know that this decision feels drastic, and some of you might be thinking, as I am, that our mission is to be here as a welcoming, safe, loving oasis for all who need respite and prayer. We are a strong symbol of faith, of resilience, of the Holy Trinity and have been that on our corner for 160 years. And that will not change. It is our DNA. However, at this most unusual time in our city and world, we do not want to contribute towards one person contracting this virus, and drastic measures are called for.

We are not cancelling Calvary. The Holy Spirit is here. We are, for a few weeks, changing the way we do church. I will be posting meditations and hopefully, if I can figure out technology, Facebook live videos of brief homilies, poems and prayers. Here is a poem to start us off: You can find poet Lynn Ungar’s poem, “Pandemic”, at www.lynnungar.com/poems/pandemic. You can pray at home. The Book of Common Prayer, if you don’t have one, is online. The Daily Offices of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer can be found on several websites, complete with the readings and suggested music. My favorite one is www.missionstclare.com. I will be calling all of our homebound parishioners and ask that you call everyone at Calvary you can think of who might not have internet or be able to receive an online message like this.

My friends, this is heartbreaking. It is heartbreaking for us, but especially for those who are ill with this virus, and for the families of those who have died. These changes are not permanent at Calvary, or in our world. We will resume our normal worship lives, our normal lives. It is a humbling experience, isn’t it, to realize in such a stark way that we truly are not in control of everything? But here’s the thing: God is. We are in God’s hands, all of us, and that will never change. Psalm 31, verses 1 – 5: which had to have been a favorite Psalm of Jesus’ says, “In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Incline your ear to me; make haste to deliver me. Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe, for you are my crag and my stronghold; for the sake of your Name, lead me and guide me. Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me, for you are my tower of strength. Into your hands I commend my spirit, for you have redeemed me, O Lord, O God of truth.

My friends, you do not know how much I will miss being together on Sunday mornings. We must find new ways of being together, to remind one another of this remarkable faith community, of our love and care for one another, and for the love of Jesus Christ, now and always.

In the name of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, and in gratitude and love for each of you,

Beth+