Category: General News

Beloved in Christ,

I am writing to inform you about changes to our safety guidelines that will be effective from the 30th of May. We will maintain our current guidelines for this Pentecost Sunday and make the change the following Sunday. Trinity Sunday will mark a turn to a new liturgical season and hopefully a new season of this pandemic.

These new guidelines aim to keep us safe while allowing individuals to make decisions about what is comfortable for them for worship. These guidelines will, per Bishop Cole’s request, ‘make space both for fully vaccinated persons and for those who are not yet vaccinated.’ I want to encourage all of you to get vaccinated as soon as you are able so that we can get closer to a time when we can worship together fully.

From Trinity Sunday (May 30) we will offer two services in the morning at 8:00 and 10:30.

At the 8:00 service we will require that everyone in attendance remain masked throughout the service. Social distancing will be observed by all present. Communion will be received in one kind. Attendance will be limited to those who register beforehand through the website or by calling the office Tuesday to Friday. This service will be for those who are uncomfortable being in an environment where people are unmasked.

At the 10:30 service masks will be encouraged but not required for those who are vaccinated. People who have not been vaccinated will be required to wear a mask unless prevented by other health concerns. Given that this will be a group with vaccinated and unvaccinated people, we still ask that social distancing be observed by all present. Communion will still be given in one kind. For the moment we will continue to refrain from congregational singing. Initially, attendance will be limited to those who register beforehand through the website or by calling the office Tuesday to Friday.

We will not be continuing the afternoon service from Trinity Sunday. If you are uncomfortable attending either of the morning services, please let me know so that a time can be arranged for you to receive communion or to celebrate a home communion.

For the time being our Sunday Adult Education will continue to be hosted by Zoom. If you would like to make use of Fox Hall to participate in Adult Education between services please let me know so that we can make adequate provision for you. As of now it does not seem prudent for us to offer any formal hospitality in conjunction with services. The sacrament of coffee hour will need to wait a bit longer. We are currently evaluating how and when singing will be reintroduced into church.

The 10:30 service will continue to live-streamed via Facebook.

We are moving into a time when our children will be the most vulnerable as they are currently ineligible for the vaccine. My hope is that we will be able to provide a time and place for them to gather safely at church. In the meantime, I ask that you would be sure to maintain appropriate distance and masking protocols when around any children at church.

Guidelines effective May 30, 2021:

8:00 am: Masks required for all. Social Distancing observed. Communion in one kind. Attendance limited to those registered.

10:30 am: Attendees masked or vaccinated. Social Distancing observed. Communion in one kind. Attendance limited to those registered.

I want to thank you for your patience, your endurance, and your hope during this time. I pray that we are moving closer and closer to a time we can be together fully.

I will update you as we continue to make changes to these guidelines.

Please feel free to be in touch with me about any questions you have concerning these new guidelines.

–Fr. Will

Beloved in Christ,

With the expiration of the Hamilton County mask mandate and an increasing number of us receiving our vaccinations, I have received a number of questions about our current safety precautions for Sunday worship at Christ Church. We will continue to follow our existing safety precautions for the time being. Although many of us, myself included, may feel some fatigue from these precautions, they remain our best way to care for each other. We will of course continue to stream our services as well as make our formation and education offerings available through Zoom. These offerings will hopefully continue to allow everyone to participate in the life of the church in a safe and prudent way.

Our current safety precautions follow from those adopted a year ago by the Vestry and accord with the guidelines given by the CDC for large gatherings.

Registration: Those who attend worship services register for those services through our church website. We currently limit the number of spots to 10 people in the morning and 6 in the afternoon. The small number of people at worship allows us to gather without implementing a system of ushers that would require more people in the building.

Social Distancing: We maintain a distance of at least six feet between those who attend mass on a Sunday. Distancing has not been a problem for us given the small number of people attending mass.

Masks: The previously adopted Vestry guidelines require masks to be worn when entering the building, exiting the building, and coming forward to receive the eucharist. This requirement makes provision for people who are not able to wear a mask for medical reasons to attend worship while others remain masked.

These precautions attempt to provide a way for a limited number of people to gather together safely while trying to be inclusive of as many people as possible.

We will be reviewing these precautions and guidelines this summer as we look forward to our next season as a church community.

I know that sadly not everyone will be able to attend on a Sunday morning. I hope this review of our precautions will allow you to make an informed decision about the best time for you to return to worship. Please feel free to contact myself or our Senior Warden, Charlotte Boatwright, with any questions or concerns you have about these safety precautions.

–Fr. Will

Beloved in Christ,

As Easter approaches and Springtime appears on the horizon, many of us are beginning to think about what this next season will bring with it.

One thing I am hoping this season will bring with it is an increasing number of us receiving our COVID vaccinations. I have received my first dose and will, Deo volente, receive my second dose the week after Easter. It has been wonderful to hear from many of you that you have received your shots and the sense of relief that goes along with them. Some parishioners have let me know that they have received their vaccinations at local pharmacies and even Walmart where it may be easier to get an appointment. Appointments are also available for those in Hamilton County at https://health.hamiltontn.org/en-us/allservices/coronavirus(covid-19)/vaccine.aspx
The sooner we are vaccinated the sooner we will be able to return to worshipping together as a community.

The other somewhat smaller change ahead is our worship together. After Easter, you will be able to register to attend on either Sunday morning or Sunday afternoon. Initially, the numbers for each service will remain small to allow for adequate social distancing. You can register by visiting the church website or calling the office Tuesday through Friday at 423-266-4263. We will continue to stream the Sunday morning service. We will continue to hold the afternoon service as long as there is a demand for it. Please register by Friday so that we can make adequate preparations.

My hope is that we are on a slow but steady trajectory toward opening more fully without taking a step back. All of this depends of course on the rate of new cases in our area continuing to decrease. I ask for your continued patience and support as we navigate these tricky waters.

My prayer is that as Holy Week continues we will continue to grow more and more into the life of our Lord. Our unity with him gives strength, character, and joy to our community together even as we remain distant for the most part. May the days ahead be a time when we find ourselves united in his love and at peace as his body, and may we show that unity together in worship sometime soon.

‘Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.’

Holy Week marks the high point of the Christian year when we celebrate the passion and resurrection of our Lord. The rites specific to these days connect us to the earliest forms of Christian worship and, therefore, mark a key point in the yearly liturgical round of our sanctification. The mysteries of Christ’s life made present on these days form that life in us as well. My hope is that some of us will be able to take part in those rites for themselves and on behalf of others in a reasonable and safe manner.

Below you will see the schedule of services for Holy Week beginning with Palm Sunday on the 28th of March and coming to a crescendo on Easter. The services will be conducted almost entirely in the Memorial Garden. If there is inclement weather, a small group will perform the service in the church. Those who wish to attend these services will need to register in advance to do so. The registration process will let us keep those attending safe as well as make it easier for us to notify them in the event of a cancellation. There will be a separate registration for those who would like to keep watch before the Blessed Sacrament on Maundy Thursday. The watch will begin after the service until midnight in the Lady Chapel with two people keeping watch at a time. The Adoration of the Cross and Mass of the Presanctified will take place at either noon or 5:30 pm depending on when the most people can come.

As of now, we are unable to stream services in the Memorial Garden. We will record the services to upload them afterward as soon as possible.

Holy Week Schedule:

3/28 – Palm Sunday
10:30 am in the Memorial Garden,
beginning outside the front doors of the church.

Register Here

3/29 – Monday
6 pm: Stations of the Cross in Memorial Garden followed by Mass.

Register Here

3/30 – Tuesday
Mass at 6 pm in Memorial Garden.

Register Here

3/31 – Wednesday
Mass at 6 pm in Memorial Garden.

Register Here

4/1 – Maundy Thursday
Mass at 7 pm in Memorial Garden.
Watch following mass until midnight.

Register for Mass Here

Register for Watch Here

4/2 – Good Friday
12 pm: Adoration of the cross and Mass of the Presanctified.

4 pm: Adoration of the cross for children in Memorial Garden.

Register for 12PM Mass Here

Register for 4 PM Devotions of the Cross for Children Here

4/3 – The Great Vigil
8:30 pm in Memorial Garden weather permitting.

Register Here

4/4 – Easter Day
Mass at 10:30 am in Memorial Garden.

Register Here

I hope that our additional Sunday masses and our keeping of Holy Week will be a first step in the long process of letting us worship together again safely. I know that not everyone will be able to join in with these tentative steps (and that we may in fact need to back off of them at some point) so we will continue to make services available via streaming. With Lent and Holy Week behind us, we will then be in a position to reflect on the experiences of worshipping in this way and to make decisions about our worship going forward. If there is a significant change in cases at any point we will revert to our current practice for Sundays and will announce a much-reduced set of Holy Week services.

–Fr. Will