To All Members and Friends of St Stephen’s Church,
This is to follow up on the March 11th directive from Bishop Marc: “I prayerfully ask all churches in the Diocese of California to cancel ALL public worship services for the month of March.” While St Stephen’s mission doesn't change, how we live into it does. That has always been true; this week the need to adapt to conditions is obvious.
I write to outline St Stephen’s plan to transition from in-person open-to-the-public worship to worship that is livestreamed. We're novices at this; we'll get better at it. (I’ll resist the temptation, tomorrow, to look into the camera and say, Hi, Mom!) This just in: Bishop Marc, long scheduled to be at St Stephen’s on the 29th of March, will keep that appointment: He’ll be presiding and preaching at St Stephen’s for our livestreamed Mass that morning.
This is a shift with no parallels in our parish history. The last time St Stephen’s had to pivot operations this significantly was in the 1940s, against the backdrop of World War II. The transition we’re making this week has widespread implications for us, and, working with Christine Trainor, I wanted to outline our initial thinking about our planned approach and what it will mean in the future. First, though, I want to emphasize a few key points.
St Stephen’s is business (almost) as usual. We are embarking on a different operating mode so as to minimize the spread of the virus. As our own Philip Norris has instructed us, social distancing and de-densifying are key means of limiting rapid spread of the coronavirus. So we are doing what we can to help avoid overwhelming area hospitals and to enable vulnerable populations to receive the health care they need.
All in-person small group and outside group meetings on our campus are cancelled for the time being to help flatten the curve. We will be experimenting with Zoom Virtual Meeting and FaceTime to enable us to continue things such as the Confirmation class (Sundays 5:00 - 6:00p), the Rector’s Bible Study (Mondays 9:30 - 10:30a), the Lenten Class (Thursdays 6:00 - 7:00p), Joe Jennings’ Bible Study Slow Religion: the Gospel of St John, Karl Belgum’s adult forums, Vestry Meetings, and so on.
Though this is new territory, we have experience on which we have been drawing, some within our own parish family. Medically, longtime member Philip Norris has for three weeks now personally informed us of steps to take in the interest of loving and protecting the parish, especially the elderly and the immunocompromised. Jock Putney, new member of the Vestry, was consulted in advance of the Bishop’s anticipated directive so as to give us more lead time to be prepared. We are leveraging Jock’s expertise in this area and preparing to provide live streaming services beginning this Sunday, 15 March, at 10 o’clock. Again, here is the link: https://vimeo.com/397550214
Q: How will I receive Holy Communion if not by mouth?
A: By faith. Our Anglican tradition has been through pestilence and passed wisdom down to us in the Book of Common Prayer. Here’s the rubric straight from the 1689 Prayer Book [you can translate it into contemporary Californian]: “But if a man, either by reason of extremity of sickness, or for want of warning in due time to the Curate, or for lack of company to receive with him, or by any other just impediment, do not receive the Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood: the Curate shall instruct him that if he do truly repent him of his sins, and stedfastly believe that Jesus Christ hath suffered death upon the Cross for him, and shed his Blood for his redemption, earnestly remembering the benefits he hath thereby, and giving him hearty thanks therefore; he doth eat and drink the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ profitably to his soul's health, although he do not receive the Sacrament with his mouth.”
There’s your answer, and we didn’t make it up. Via livestream you will receive what Tradition calls Spiritual Communion. Inclining your hearts, you will eat and drink the Body and Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ to your soul's health, although you do not receive the Sacrament with your mouth.
Pastoral Care is constant and changing. Alberta, Christine, Dorothy, Richard, Shari, Zoila, and I are working at what we’ll call tele-pastoral care. We are already collaborating to call parishioners who are most vulnerable in these circumstances. We will be building out an old-fashioned phone-tree system. Don’t be surprised if you get a call from the clergy checking in on you to ask how you're dealing with the disruption and what we can do to help you, explaining how to livestream, and so on. Let us know-email Elizabeth or call the church office at 415-435-4501 if you need a device and / or need help with WiFi access. Let us know also if you have an extra device you are willing to lend to a parish member.
Your clergy are aware of the pastoral needs of the parish. What we are not is omniscient; we appreciate it deeply any time you make sure to inform us of someone in need, sickness, or any other kind of adversity. Every member of this Body is part of the pastoral care system. We encourage you to be more intentional about this now than ever.
As always, during normal business hours, the clergy may be contacted at the office number: 415-435-4501. After hours, if you have a pastoral emergency, call or text the Clergy On Call number, 415-328-8812.
Pastoral Care begins at the Altar. That is in part why we’re live streaming services. I think of two of my priestly heroes, George Herbert and John Donne, who lived when 200 people were dying of plague in the City of London every week. Even as pestilence kept people from the parish church, parishioners heard the church bells and knew that though physically removed, the Mass was being celebrated, the Body of Christ was being broken, and they received the Sacrament if not by mouth. With this in mind, we’re planning to livestream services even after this virus blows over: shut ins at the Redwoods, say, or in their own homes will be strengthened by it. Parishioners in far off places will be able to say their prayers connected to their parish community, their Altar.
The Clergy and Professional Staff are working light on their feet. One of the most important assets we have is the professional staff. We expect our work to be adjusted but uninterrupted. (For example, we’re still moving the chains [that's a football analogy, Virginia] to open a St Stephen’s Preschool in 2021. On the Camp Create Goes to Angel Island front, school communities are reporting that families are registering apace.) In everything we do, we will continue to prioritize the health and well-being of everyone in our community.
We know you will have many questions. We hope you will send them to Elizabeth Gravely (elizabeth [at] ststephenschurch.org). Learning what is on your mind is the best way we can identify what additional information we should share broadly. We will deal with any questions that are urgent, and ask for your patience as we respond to the rest.
We hope this shift, extraordinary as it is, addresses the growing uncertainty this pandemic has generated, as a decision that was feeling increasingly inevitable has now been made and we can plan for the future. The first priority of any institution, including ours, has to be the safety of its community. We take these actions with that primary aim. Together, we will continue on with the work of St Stephen’s Church and figure out a new normal in an abnormal time.
I began by asking you to do what you do, to pray. I ask you now to make this prayer the prayer we say together, especially at bedtime: Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.
—PCE+