Covid Policies for this congregation

(revised January 5, 2022)

Worship Guidelines

Very High Spread = daily cases of 100 or more per 100,000
(based on a rolling average of seven or more days).
This means an average of 1,047 daily cases in Pima County, or higher.

  • Indoor worship suspended (except for those who are producing the livestream video, all of whom must be vaccinated).
  • Choirs suspended (for worship and rehearsals).
  • Online worship and outdoor worship will continue

High Spread = daily cases of 25 to 100 per 100,000
(based on a rolling average of seven or more days).

  • Indoor worship with masks required.
  • Online worship and outdoor worship to continue.

Low Spread = daily cases of less than 25 per 100,000
(based on a rolling average of seven or more days). 

  • Indoor worship with masks optional.
  • Online worship to continue; outdoor worship can be moved indoors, if desired.

Symptoms or Positive Test for Covid

  • Anyone (staff, worshiper, or visitor) experiencing cold, flu, or other respiratory symptoms should not attend worship (indoors or outdoors).
  • Anyone who is diagnosed with Covid (a positive test) should not attend worship (indoors or outdoors). Please contact the pastor or another church leader so that we can determine if others in the congregation might have been exposed.  Your identity and health will be treated with discretion, but please help us to prevent additional spread.
  • The relevant citation from the CDC:  People with COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter.

Worship Leaders Who Have Had Contact with Covid-19, but have not tested positive

These guidelines would apply principally to Pastor Stephen Springer, Eric Holtan, and the assisting minister(s) at the 9:30 a.m. worship, based on the kinds of contact and singing that they perform in their duties.
Note: these individuals are each specifically known to be up-to-date with vaccinations and boosters.

Exposure is defined by the CDC as close contact “within 6 feet of someone for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.”

  • Testing: the affected individual should take a rapid test on Saturday night or Sunday morning to verify that they are still “Covid-negative.”
  • Disclosure: the congregation should be notified
  • No singing: in addition to wearing masks (preferably N95 or KN95), the affected individual should not sing or chant.
  • No communion distribution: The individual should not be involved in communion distribution. (The pastor may preside at the liturgy, but should not take part in the distribution of the elements.)
  • No greeting line: The pastor should refrain from greeting people after worship.

These guidelines were developed by our pastor and congregation council.
They are subject to modification in response to public health recommendations.
Where there is doubt or uncertainty, our congregation choose the more cautious course of action.