Dear Parishioners & Friends of the Church of the Advent,

Having written for the last two emails about issues which concern the wider human family and our role as individual persons in promoting justice and peace in society, I write today to fill you in on some in-house topics.

Re-opening of churches. As of now, the bishop’s suspension of regular public worship continues through the end of this month. It may (or may not!) be that he will advise churches in the diocese that they may resume public worship – with appropriate protocols – after that date. If and when that comes to pass, I will share with you the mechanics of such a re-opening. We have an implementation team that is considering the guidance that has already been given from the bishop, governor and CDC (guidance which we will follow), but as you know, that guidance is constantly changing. I think it entirely likely that many parishes in our diocese will elect to continue to suspend worship for the time being. Others, with professional cleaning staff, good traffic patterns, vast spaces may choose to open – again with appropriate safety protocols.

These words from the Journey By Stages document from the diocese are important here:

Context matters. The local contexts of Episcopal congregations in Massachusetts vary greatly. We live in densely populated cities and small towns, suburban communities, seaside and mountain resorts and rural areas. The places we worship are varied as well: majestic buildings, small neighborhood churches, storefronts and summer chapels. So, too, with this pandemic, communities are affected to greatly varying degrees ... This is not a one-size-fits-all plan for regathering. In each community and congregation we must consider how we protect one another and our neighbors, carry out the mission entrusted to us and offer our prayers and praises to God.

Just as context matters for the choices of churches, context also applies to choices made by individual parishioners. I speak to priests all over the United States, and I have spent many hours in conversation sharing experiences and best practices. For those areas of the country that have already opened up, a pastoral issue has developed that I need to address.

In some places, parishioners have felt pressured by fellow members of the congregation to attend public worship when not ready to do so. This is unacceptable. On the other extreme, some people have felt shamed because of their choice to attend public worship. Sometimes it is couched in the language of “I can’t go to church and therefore you shouldn’t go to church either.” This too is unacceptable.

I think we will all agree that responsible adults have the ability and right to make choices for themselves. Each person’s context will be different; each person’s decision-making process is complex, and will involve evaluating his or her physical health, emotional health, spiritual health, and seeking to come to a decision that best addresses these aspects. In the face of strongly held views on this issue, when the time comes for opening, charity demands that we respect the autonomy of each person. You may expect that of me, I will expect that of you, and we should expect that of each other.

For those who cannot come to church, webcasts and Zoom offerings will continue.

Clergy staffing. Fr Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff returned to England this past week, and his arrival at Heathrow made the newswires (article below). I am thankful for his service to the parish during the rector transition, and his wise counsel to me. I hope to have him back in residence for a time in the future.

You already know that Fr Jay James, Associate Rector, is due to retire at the end of this month. We will have to postpone his farewell party to a future date, but if you wish to contribute to a departure purse, you may follow this link: https://abundant.co/thechurchoftheadvent, designating your gift in the memo line as “Fr James.” His calm pastoral professionalism will be missed by me, and us all, but fortunately he will be living in Boston, and I have assured him that he always has an altar here. Normally, I would have been looking at a successor for Fr James, but with reduced parish activity and uncertainty about the future, that process is on hold for the time being.

I am thankful for your prayers and support, and know that you are in my prayers as well.

Fr Douglas Anderson

Fr Alistair gets the paparazzi treatment

Godspeed Corey Rouse

Rector's Wednesday Night Zoom Class