Dear Members and Friends of the Auburn SDA Church,
As was mentioned during the last church service, our Evangelism Council was tasked with the job of updating our Covid Policies this past Sunday.
We spent a significant amount of time discussing the topic. There were lots of opinions shared and fervent discussion for quite a while. We agreed that it was time for a refresh in or policies but we wanted to make sure that the opinions of our members and friends were well represented.
As most of you know by now, the state of Georgia has updated their policies to state that they are no longer enforcing any Covid policies. There are no longer laws governing gathering limits, social distancing protocols, legal enforcement, etc. That does not mean that the state of Georgia does not care about Covid, nor believes that it is gone, but they won’t enforce any rules.
I explain this to make a point. That is essentially the same decision the Church Board came to on Sunday. Though we fully realize that Covid is not gone; though we realize that there is still need for caution in certain circumstances; though we expect everyone to continue to use “Covid conciseness” (like not coming to church when you are sick); we have decided to make the same decision as the state. We will no longer enforce any rules or policies in regards to Covid.
What that means practically is:
1. We will remove the ropes in the sanctuary.
2. We will not require masks at church but anyone is welcomed to wear masks at any time (especially downstairs during worship).
3. We will restart communion for those who choose to participate (more details to follow).
4. We will restart potluck for those who choose to participate (more details to follow).
We realize that this decision (like any other we may have made) will come with some questions. We want you to know that we are available to chat with anyone that has concerns.
Again, we are not saying that Covid no longer exists nor are we encouraging people to take risks that they are not conformable with. We encourage those who prefer to continue wearing masks, social distancing, etc to do so.
Yet, we realize that Covid seems to be here to stay and we trust our members to make their own wise decisions with their personal health and well-being. We also trust our members to continue being responsible and respectful of others.
If this is not the direction that you would have preferred we are sorry. We realize that there are many and varied opinions on the topic of Covid policies. We also realize that it would not be possible to make everyone happy.
Our prayer is that we will continue in the unity of the Lord, regardless of differing opinions at times.
Thank you for your support and prayers. We look forward to the many and great ways that the Lord is leading our congregation.
Pastor Joseph Carty