Dear saints,
I am delighted to write with the news that we will be able to resume indoor gatherings at All Saints’. After the Diocese of Atlanta issued the most recent protocols, the parish's Public Health Task Force discerned how those protocols might work for All Saints’ and assessed our current HVAC system. The Task Force then presented the protocols to the vestry and they were approved on Monday of this week. We will host our first indoor services on May 30, Trinity Sunday, to give our staff sufficient time to plan for the transition.
Indoor worship will include Sunday services as well as funerals, weddings, and baptisms. We also anticipate being able to hold indoor gatherings for formation or other parish groups. As with outdoor gatherings, we will continue to follow a variety of protocols: pre-registering for services and other events, using assigned seating, maintaining physical distancing, and so on. It will be very important to wear masks at all times and as much as we are all eager to sing together, it will not be possible to do so yet. Also, we will not be able to provide or have any food or drinks on the campus.
Currently, each gathering will be limited to a maximum of 75 people, including clergy and musicians. Consequently, we anticipate using more than one space simultaneously per service, most likely the church and Ellis Hall. We could potentially add a third space if needed. In addition, we will maintain at least one outdoor service per Sunday for those who would prefer to gather outside, and we will continue to stream our services online via our website and social media channels. Details of service times and other gatherings will follow in the coming weeks.
While this return to indoor church will not be exactly as we remember it from pre-March 2020, it will mean that our beautiful church buildings will have what has been most conspicuously missing all this time: their people. What a gift it will be to see you inside All Saints’ again. The staff and I cannot wait to welcome you home. I am deeply grateful for all that you have done to help keep All Saints’ together, vibrant, and doing the work of God for this past 13 months. We are making a turn on the road. Keep the faith, we are almost home.
Peace,
Simon+
