Dear family and friends of First Baptist Pasadena,
I have some exciting plans to share about the summer related to Covid, vaccines, the sanctuary, the garage, masks, Jesus…you get the picture. It is all very thrilling, a little overwhelming, but mostly our plans feel responsible, generous and considerate of the entirety of our church community.
Last week our Covid Advisory Team met with members of our staff and Board to plan the summer, especially when we think we will return to the sanctuary and what we will shift in our outdoor church time until then. I’ll share in chronological order so you get a sense of flow, which will also help explain why we chose this process and pace. There are details related to smaller in-person church gatherings like choir practice, community dinners and Bible study that will be shared as we finalize those plans. The basic practices for our large gatherings will be similar for our smaller meetings, and we expect a return to normal small gatherings in the coming weeks. In fact, choir practice started back on May 19th in our outdoor park space! We are looking at a midweek Bible study at the church in the summer, as well as other opportunities for our church to spend time together and just have some fun.
Beginning this Sunday, May 23, we will be adjusting our community agreements for outdoor church. Based on the vaccination rate of our garage participants and the brilliant ways we have cared for one another while worshipping in person, we will no longer require masks for people who are fully vaccinated. We are asking that people who are not yet fully vaccinated continue to wear a mask while out of their vehicle. Since this stuff takes time to get used to, some of us who are fully vaccinated may still wear a mask for a period of time. Some of our leadership will probably do the same. But it is clear that masks are no longer a necessary safety precaution for those fully vaccinated when outside. It would be a thoughtful gesture to keep a mask in your pocket or bag while in the garage even if you do not plan on wearing it the entire time. That way you can be responsive to your neighbor when it would be helpful and kind to do so.
We are also shifting the expectation around physical distancing, but this one is a little trickier. Honestly, not everyone is ready for a hug or handshake just yet. It has been over a year of vigilance, and the body/heart/mind need a buffer of time to make sense of the shifting landscape. So, while we are no longer requiring that people all stay six feet apart, we will need to practice respect and patience for the various levels of comfort people are feeling about all of this. In fact, this is a great opportunity to practice a deeper awareness of other people’s bodily autonomy. I personally love to share a hug with friends and family (sometimes even a stranger if so invited!). But I always extend an invitation, not a demand, and I never take a hug that the other person was not offering. That is creepy on a good day, but in a world after Covid, being touched without permission can be traumatic. So let’s be patient with one another about the space each of us needs in order to feel like we can breathe and experience worship in the fullest way possible.
To summarize, starting this Sunday we are relaxing the guidelines around masks and physical distancing for those who are fully vaccinated while outside. If you are not vaccinated, we would love to help you get that taken care of. If you are unable to get vaccinated for any reason, we would love to know so we can support you moving forward. We will also continue to prioritize the safety of our kids who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated, and we will create spaces where they can safely experience the love and support of their church family.
We are going to be intentional about how we interact in the garage for the remaining weeks we are worshipping in our makeshift outdoor sanctuary. My hope is that we each find a pace to emerge from this pandemic so we are able to be fully present to one another with as little anxiety as possible. Compassion, patience and curiosity for your neighbor are going to serve you well.
We will also be shifting worship to the green space in the park twice this summer, on June 6 and July 4. These are communion Sundays, and we want to create a hybrid of worship and simply spending some time together. On those Sundays we will not meet in the garage and will instead set up in the park. We hope families with kids will also attend these fun outdoor worship events and reconnect with their larger church community. We'll share more details closer to those Sundays. Throughout the summer we will also coordinate Community Dinners at people's homes.
In addition, this summer we will add some Sunday programming for kids in our park during worship in the garage. On those Sundays, families will have the option to drop their kids off in the park and head to the garage for worship (you can find the dates for those weeks below). Pastors Lindsay and Mary will be ready with activities and a team of vaccinated volunteers. They know our kids still need to wear masks, so our adults will do the same in solidarity with them for the time being. We are excited to host another Liturgy for Families with Kids on Saturday, June 26. We are also planning a low-key summer camp for the kids in our community at the end of July, and we'll have more information for parents soon. On June 13, we plan to reopen our nursery rooms during worship for our little ones who are three years old and younger. The nursery will be closed on first Sundays so that kids and nursery staff can join us for communion and worship in the park.
Now concerning sanctuary worship, we have a date in mind to return. Drum roll please. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
We plan to return inside to our sanctuary on August 8th!
We want to return inside thoughtfully, so these remaining weeks will allow us to prepare in all the ways. Logistically, we want the space to be fully ready for our return. But more critically, we want all of us to be ready emotionally and socially. So we are going to use the outdoor church time to the fullest as we relax our practices and relearn how to be fully present and keep our chill. Staying grounded and calm are going to be some of our most important community practices. The world needs a community to bear witness to the possibility of conviviality, trust and patience.
Many on our staff have not been able to take an extended time off to rest, so we are going to be taking some time this summer to regroup before we begin indoor sanctuary worship. Please pray for us all to get the rest needed so that we can step forward into this new world together, full of love and excitement for all God will show us in these after-times.
Less without you,
Pastor John Jay in collaboration with our staff, Covid Advisory Team and Board of Deacons
PostScript
As I read the above letter a last time in preparation for sharing it, I was struck with all that we have been through in the last 14 months. Personally, I have had to adjust my expectations daily as the world opens, the rules change, and the strain of the last year is allowed some room to breathe. Now that things are measurably safer, I find myself feeling waves of emotions that were bottled up from the last year. Even when my brain can explain away the anxiety, my body is not so sure. I say all of this so that you know you are not alone if you are feeling conflicting emotions. So while we celebrate the waning of the pandemic in our region, the work of mental and spiritual healing is only just beginning.
I read recently about the best predictors of resiliency in the face of extreme trauma, and felt a deep gratitude for our church community. Those factors that seem to insulate certain communities from the most devastating psychological effects of suffering? Trust in leadership and a sense of belonging and community solidarity. As I have reflected on the last year, I can see how we nurtured these exact things together. And I can feel how our church community functioned like a boat on stormy waters. The threats were real, but we faced them together with a sense of purpose and calling. As we shift our gaze to the shore, what awaits is unknown. But our church community is emerging from this storm more clear about who we are and the work God has for us. I will be resting some this summer with my family, taking the slower pace as an opportunity to absorb these last months, learn their lessons and turn my face forward. I hope you are able to do the same.
Onward,
Pastor John Jay
TL;DR
Changes to outdoor church starting May 23
For fully vaccinated people, masks and physical distancing are no longer required outside. Please continue to be considerate of your neighbor as you relax your personal practices.
For unvaccinated people, masks and physical distancing are still important practices that should be maintained until vaccinated. If you are eligible to receive your vaccine, we strongly urge you to do so.
Return to indoor sanctuary worship
We anticipate a return inside starting August 8th. Until that time, we will continue worshipping outside with a modified summer schedule you can see below.
Summary of summer plans
June 6-Worship in the Park
June 13-Nursery Reopens
June 20-Kids programming in the park during worship
June 26-Liturgy for Families with Kids
July 4-Worship in the Park
July 18-Kids programming in the park during worship
July 26 through 30-Kids Camp 9AM-12PM
August 1-Final Worship in the Garage
August 8-Return to Sanctuary and Kid Classes!