It's Time to Hit the Links!
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Trinity Cathedral to Resume In-Person Worship
on Sunday, October 4th!
Dear Friends,
The Diocesan Reopening Reentering and Reimagining Task Force, along with our dear Bishop William “Chip” Stokes, have given us the green light to reopen (understandably, with some limitations.)
I am grateful to the Wardens, Vestry and Lay leadership for all their efforts to hold things together and focus on our Mission and Ministry.
I am grateful to our congregation and friends for your support and generosity.
On October 4, 2020 at 10:00am we will resume in-person worship at the Cathedral whilst still livestreaming on YouTube. We understand that not everyone will be comfortable with returning for any number of reasons, and we fully appreciate your concerns. We are taking every precaution and ask all wanting to attend in person, to wear a mask.
We ask that you please RSVP to indicate your desire to attend worship on a given Sunday, by E-mailing me at reneroryjohn@gmail.com or calling the office: (609) 392-3805 ext. 101. All who attend will also be asked to use only the parking lot entrance to enter the building.
As we proceed, we may well need to return to online worship only, if things become problematic.
Please feel free to communicate with us regarding other ways we may be of assistance.
In Christ,
Dean
The following is the letter we received from Bishop Stokes and the Diocesan Task Force:
Dear Dean John,
The COVID-19 Reentering, Reopening and Reimagining Our Church Buildings Task Force has reviewed and approved the RRR plan submitted by Trinity Cathedral subject to the following limitations. While the questionnaire/diagram indicated that the nave was able to safely seat 150 people using distancing, this seems too high a number when maximum occupancy capacity is 300. Therefore, the nave seating should be limited to 60. Similarly, the questionnaire/diagram indicated that 12 people could be safely placed in the chancel. This, too, seems too high a number. No more than three persons should be in the chancel during a worship service. There should also be safe-distancing between the organist and any soloist/singer. With these conditions, please feel free to proceed in accordance with this plan. If you wish to make changes to the plan, please notify the Task Force and submit revisions for review. In the event of any known COVID-19 exposures or outbreaks at Trinity Cathedral, or among those who have used or use the buildings, you should notify Canon Phyllis Jones immediately.
I am grateful to you and the leadership of Trinity for the faithfulness, conscientiousness, patience and diligence you have shown throughout this crisis. I am especially grateful for the work of Trinity Cathedral member Dr. Phil Lewis for his incredible leadership as Co-Chair of the RRR Task Force, and to you for your strong leadership in helping to minister to the community of First Responders in the very difficult and challenging current ministry context.
Blessings and warm wishes,
+Chip
Pentecost 17 Mass to be Livestreamed at 10:00 am This Sunday
To follow along with our service bulletin at home, click here
(Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from OneLicense with license # A-733570.)
Scroll down for directions on how to join by Zoom or other "virtual" methods . . .
This Sunday, Dean John and Cathedral clergy will livestream our Mass for the Seventeenth Sunday in Pentecost at 10:00am.
You will need to use this link in order to access the livestream by Zoom:
https://bit.ly/TrinityWorship
You can also join us this Sunday by watching at:
YouTube: http://bit.ly/YouTubeDNJ
Facebook: facebook.com/DioceseofNJ/
Via telephone by dialing +1 646 558 8656 and then entering meeting code 855 472 344
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,855472344# US (Chicago)
+16465588656,,855472344# US (New York)
Dial by your location
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 253 215 8782 US
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Meeting ID: 855 472 344
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aens5v3w1L
Click here to read: A Pastoral Statement from the Bishop of New Jersey: April 15, 2020
Bishop Stokes Announces Immediate Suspension of Public Worship Services
’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
In my previous communications regarding the COVID-19 Crisis, I stated that the situation was fluid and that we would evaluate and adjust our practices as necessary. After prayer and deliberate consideration, and in consultation with others, I have determined that we need to take more proactive steps to protect people and help stem the spread of the Coronavirus.
Effective immediately, I am directing all churches in the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey to suspend public worship services and all other non-essential public gatherings until further notice. We will re-evaluate this decision as Holy Week approaches to determine whether it is safe and appropriate to re-open our buildings to our congregants and the wider public at that time.
I met earlier today with approx. 70 of our diocesan clergy and there was general agreement as to how we should proceed. Love and concern for the people of God led us overwhelmingly to discern together that safeguarding the people entrusted to our care called for this decision. We recognize that it requires a high degree of sacrifice from all 140 congregations across our diocesan community and the people they serve.
The Governor of the State of New Jersey has declared a state of emergency. Experts in the field of public health are strongly urging all of us to limit person-to-person contact. The primary objective in all of this is to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, thereby protecting the health of everyone. This applies especially to the most vulnerable – those over age 60 and those with underlying health concerns.
I am encouraging all churches to begin livestreaming worship services and am directing diocesan staff to assist with this process. A special web site is being set up at coronavirus.dioceseofnj.org to distribute the latest information including scheduled online worship services.
Clergy and staff at each congregation will be working to support and uplift their congregations through this difficult time through phone calls, video conferencing, email, and other communications means as appropriate.
Further, all face-to-face meetings of Diocesan groups and committees will be moved to video conferencing. Diocesan staff will work from home as much as their responsibilities allow.
Each church community may have essential services (examples might include funerals, feeding programs, etc.) that must continue. In these instances it is expected that any groups involved will follow all recommended protocols and precautions set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New Jersey Dept. of Health.
We remain a community of believers; we remain the church. The ways in which we come together in community will need to change in the short term, but our one purpose always remain the same: to form people as disciples of Jesus Christ so they can flourish as human beings, alleviate the world’s suffering, and participate in God’s mission of reconciliation.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
The Right Reverend William H. Stokes, D.D.
12th Bishop of New Jersey
In my previous communications regarding the COVID-19 Crisis, I stated that the situation was fluid and that we would evaluate and adjust our practices as necessary. After prayer and deliberate consideration, and in consultation with others, I have determined that we need to take more proactive steps to protect people and help stem the spread of the Coronavirus.
Effective immediately, I am directing all churches in the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey to suspend public worship services and all other non-essential public gatherings until further notice. We will re-evaluate this decision as Holy Week approaches to determine whether it is safe and appropriate to re-open our buildings to our congregants and the wider public at that time.
I met earlier today with approx. 70 of our diocesan clergy and there was general agreement as to how we should proceed. Love and concern for the people of God led us overwhelmingly to discern together that safeguarding the people entrusted to our care called for this decision. We recognize that it requires a high degree of sacrifice from all 140 congregations across our diocesan community and the people they serve.
The Governor of the State of New Jersey has declared a state of emergency. Experts in the field of public health are strongly urging all of us to limit person-to-person contact. The primary objective in all of this is to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, thereby protecting the health of everyone. This applies especially to the most vulnerable – those over age 60 and those with underlying health concerns.
I am encouraging all churches to begin livestreaming worship services and am directing diocesan staff to assist with this process. A special web site is being set up at coronavirus.dioceseofnj.org to distribute the latest information including scheduled online worship services.
Clergy and staff at each congregation will be working to support and uplift their congregations through this difficult time through phone calls, video conferencing, email, and other communications means as appropriate.
Further, all face-to-face meetings of Diocesan groups and committees will be moved to video conferencing. Diocesan staff will work from home as much as their responsibilities allow.
Each church community may have essential services (examples might include funerals, feeding programs, etc.) that must continue. In these instances it is expected that any groups involved will follow all recommended protocols and precautions set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New Jersey Dept. of Health.
We remain a community of believers; we remain the church. The ways in which we come together in community will need to change in the short term, but our one purpose always remain the same: to form people as disciples of Jesus Christ so they can flourish as human beings, alleviate the world’s suffering, and participate in God’s mission of reconciliation.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
The Right Reverend William H. Stokes, D.D.
12th Bishop of New Jersey
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