St. John’s, Lafayette Regathering Task Force
COVID Gathering Guidelines
1 February 2022
The Regathering Task Force has been monitoring the recent surge in COVID cases in Tippecanoe County. Since late December 2021, case numbers have risen to record levels (many times the rates of the Winter 2020/2021 peak) and local hospitals reached full capacity for ICU beds and other critical care resources. For this reason, leadership made the decision to suspend in-person worship through January 30th.
The Task Force began working on a framework for making future decisions more easily and directly, guided by the relevant case data and availability of critical care resources.[i] The “Advisory Level” from the Indiana COVID-19 Dashboard and Map and hospital capacity will serve as the primary guidelines as we determine "how open" St. John's will be.[ii] So, for instance:
*Blue*: When Tippecanoe County is "Blue" we will be fully open and operate as normal.
*Yellow*: When Tippecanoe County is "Yellow", masks and social distancing will be encouraged.
*Orange*: When Tippecanoe County is "Orange":
Masks and social distancing will be required.
Parish leadership will encourage those who are unvaccinated or otherwise immunocompromised to attend online worship.
*RED*: When Tippecanoe County is "Red":
Masks and social distancing will be required.
Coffee hour, Christian Education for all ages, and other in-person meetings will be suspended, rescheduled, or moved online.
Choir rehearsal and congregational singing will be suspended.
Other aspects of the Congregational Regathering Plan (Spring 2021) may be implemented such as reservations, attendance limitations, etc. Staff leadership will make these decisions as necessary.
Parish leadership will encourage those who are unvaccinated or otherwise immunocompromised to attend online worship.
*RED* +: When Tippecanoe County is "Red" and ICU Capacity is over 95%, St. John’s will likely revert to online worship only.
In addition to these guidelines, we will also consider trends (for instance, we may act more aggressively if cases and/or hospitalizations are trending up sharply). It is also important to note that Diocesan directives supersede any decisions made at the local level.
In making the decision to suspend in-person worship, we recognize that many parts of our community (schools, some businesses, other churches, etc.) have remained fully open during the recent surge and with few safety protocols. The leadership at St. John’s is particularly concerned to keep everyone at church safe and to lessen the strain on community resources. This is a difficult balance. Indeed, one of the most difficult things about the pandemic has been the difficult task of weighing the various concerns: our own personal safety, our need to gather and "carry on", and what we owe to others in the wider community. When care for the wider community tips the balance, it is important that we continue to create space and opportunities to care for those in our parish community who are in need as well.
If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to contact the church office at 765.742.4079 or contact the Rector, Bradley Pace at bradleypace@stjohns-laf.org.
Thank you for your patience and your grace. Please continue to pray for those who are sick with COVID and for all those working in healthcare at this difficult time.
The St. John’s Regathering Task Force
[i] The omicron variant has led to a change in the way we should think about infection rates, etc. This is explained nicely in a recent article by Dr. Dhruv Khullar in the New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/01/24/do-the-omicron-numbers-mean-what-we-think-they-mean.
[ii]According to the Indiana COVID-19 Dashboard and Map, the Advisory level refers to the current guidelines the county must follow. A county must remain at a lower Weekly Two-Metric Score for two consecutive weeks to move down to a lower advisory level. For more information, go to https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/indiana-covid-19-dashboard-and-map/.