Care-filled Worship and Sacramental Life in a Lingering Pandemic - is a comprehensive update from the consultation on Ecumenical Protocols for Worship, Fellowship, and Sacramental Practices. Incorporating the latest CDC guidance, this update informs decision making and basic practices of Christian worship and congregational life. The ELCA has been a partner in this consultation throughout the pandemic
Pediatric group recommends masks for students over 2 when schools reopen - as reported in the Hill.
You Are Enough: Reentering Ministry After a Pandemic - a blog from the Children, Youth and Family Network of the ELCA.
Reentry into Children's Ministry - a blog from the Children, Youth and Family Network of the ELCA 
Across the country, faith communities are at the forefront of supporting equitable vaccine distribution and combatting vaccine hesitancy. As trusted messengers, faith leaders are educating their communities on why and how to get vaccinated. As trusted spaces, houses of worship are serving as convenient and hospitable vaccination sites. Together, we can ensure that all our neighbors have the access and information needed to receive this life saving vaccine.
ELCAChurchTogether -Resources to help leaders and members stay connected and resilient during COVID-19.
Racial Equility (during Covid-19) - COVID-19 Racial Equity & Social Justice list includes information that we hope will help communities and activists as they work to understand and respond to the moment and for the long haul.
Podcast: Being Church in the Time of COVID from Princeton Theological Seminary seeks to tell the stories of what it was like being the church during the pandemic of 2020.
15 Ways to Build Faith and Community Virtually During the Pandemic- from Youth Specialties
From A Sanctified Art, Singing Together But Apart - Congregational Song for Online Worship curated by Slats Toole, Songs for Unsettled Times - From Music that Makes Community Short, come simple melodies that are a powerful balm and can be treated as pocket/zipper songs, which allow us to add words, names, and feelings specific to our context.
Resiliancy: Setting Free the Lament - from ELCA Pastor Brenda Smith and ELCA Coaching
Institute of Youth Ministry out of Princeton Theological Seminary - come TONS of Resources
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Measure What Matters: Faith Leaders Share How to Measure Digital Engagement - From Barna Research
5 Practices for Coaxing Order out of Chaos - by Consultant Susan Beaumont for Luther Seminary
Handling Schooling at Home from a Homeschooling Mom - from ADDitude Magazine, “I’ve Been Homeschooling My ADHD Brood for Years. Here’s What I Want You to Know.”
A Second Pandemic Program Year: Finding Handholds - short blog from Building Faith
Ten Tech Tips for Meeting Online - NEXT Church has been operating virtually for the past 7+ years, so we are super familiar with meeting online! Mostly, we have used Zoom, so we refer to that platform here, but we hope these tips will translate across different platforms.
Covid-19 Vaccine Milestone Moment by Sara Ray
Best Practices for Safe Youth Ministry in a Pandemic Environment - Helpful info gathered by the Catholic diocese.
Best Practices for Safe Online Youth Ministry - from Yale Youth Ministry Institute
Coming Back Together Congregation Guidelines - From the three Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod
Yale Youth Ministry Initative - Covid Specific resources. Below is a sample Council Resolution for resuming worship.
If you choose to have people pre-register, be sure that you won’t exceed the capacity you have determined, we do not recommend pre-attendance waivers. We recommend the adoption of a Council resolution setting out the particulars of conditions for in-person attendance, negative testing requirements, notification permission, and contact tracing. The template below does not mention the continuation of online worship, but that could be added. There will continue to be many who cannot come, or should not come, to in-person worship. A council resolution makes the safety precautions clear, protects worshippers, and provides the best liability protection for the congregation and its leaders. It covers the most important concerns. If you pass a resolution, be sure to share it with the whole congregation. Yours in Christ, Michael Rinehart, Bishop bishop@gulfcoastsynod.org Kathy Patrick, Synod Attorney kpatrick@gibbsbruns.com Sample Council Resolution Regarding Resumption of In-Person Worship
The Council of [Church Name] hereby resolves that it will resume in-person worship as of [X date]. Consistent with our calling to love and care for one another and for the health of our neighbors, any person attending in-person worship must wear a mask and maintain physical distancing. Those who are ill, have tested positive for COVID-19, or who are in vulnerable populations should refrain from attending in-person worship. Persons exposed to COVID-19, or who have previously tested positive for COVID-19, must refrain from attending in-person worship until at least [two weeks] after they have tested negative for the presence of the virus. Persons who choose to attend in-person worship agree to inform the church promptly if they learn they have been exposed to COVID-19. Notice of COVID-19 exposure should be made by calling [name] at [phone number] and should inform us of the relevant date(s) of in-person attendance. The church will then make appropriate, anonymous notifications to others who may have been in attendance on the same date, so they may take appropriate steps to protect their health and safety. The church office will also notify public health authorities and will assist them in any efforts to undertake contact tracing. Modelo de resolución del consejo sobre la reanudación del culto en persona
El Consejo Directivo de [Nombre de la Iglesia] por la presente resuelve que reanudará el culto en persona a partir de la fecha X. De acuerdo con nuestro llamado a amarnos y cuidarnos unos a otros y por la salud de nuestros vecinos, cualquier persona que asista a la adoración en persona debe usar una máscara y mantener el distanciamiento personal. Aquellos que están enfermos, han dado positivo por COVID-19 o que se encuentran en poblaciones vulnerables deben abstenerse de asistir a la adoración en persona. Las personas expuestas al COVID-19, o que hayan dado positivo previamente al COVID-19, deben abstenerse de asistir a la adoración en persona hasta al menos [dos semanas] después de haber dado negativo en la prueba de la presencia del virus. Las personas que eligen asistir a la adoración en persona acuerdan informar a la iglesia de inmediato si se enteran de que han estado expuestas al COVID-19. El aviso de exposición al COVID-19 debe hacerse llamando a [nombre] al [número de teléfono] y debe informarnos de las fechas relevantes de asistencia en persona. Luego, la iglesia hará notificaciones apropiadas y anónimas a otras personas que puedan haber estado presentes en la misma fecha, para que puedan tomar las medidas adecuadas para proteger su salud y seguridad. La oficina de la iglesia también notificará a las autoridades de salud pública y las ayudará en cualquier esfuerzo para realizar el rastreo de contactos. Run and Do Not Grow Weary: Acknowledging and Managing Digital Fatigue - from the Episcopal Virginia Theological Seminary.
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Talking with Kids:Talking to Children about COVID-19: A Parent Resource
https://www.nasponline.org/…/talking-to-children-about-covi… This is a comprehensive resource authored by the National Association of School Psychologists. Coronavirus, Anxiety, Children and the Church https://buildfaith.org/coronavirus-anxiety-children-and-th…/ Great, practical advice from the “Building Faith” website based at Virginia Theological Seminary (Episcopal). Helping Children with Scary News https://www.sallylloyd-jones.com/helping-children-with-sc…/… A blog post by New York Times bestselling children’s author Sally Lloyd-Jones focused on helping children process scary news. Helping Children and Teens Cope with Anxiety https://pulse.seattlechildrens.org/helping-children-and-te…/ A guide from Children’s Hospital in Seattle with strategies to help children and teens cope with anxiety related to the coronavirus. Practical:Center for Disease Control - One Stop Shop Toolkits
CDC Guidance for Cleaning - Read through this 9 page document for your church...nursery..etc. |
Christian Care:10 Guidelines for Pastoral Care During the Coronavirus Outbreak- from Christian Century come some timely reminders
Milestone Ministries: Coronavirus milestone for small gatherings and households.
Pandemic Hope: A Family Devotional for Life During Covid-19 by a collective of Lutheran leaders.
Coronavirius Faith + Lead from Luther Seminary - Resources for Christian communities being church in the midst of a global pandemic.
A Remembrance of Baptism During Global Pandemic: By Lutheran Pastor Collette Broady Grund.
IDEAS & RESOURCES FOR LAMENT AND THANKSGIVING
FOR YOUTH AND THOSE WHO MINISTER WITH THEM - This is a resource from the Episcopal church, for individuals or groups (specifically teens and young adults) to name and share experiences of loss, grief, anger, alongside hope and solidarity in the midst of COVID-19. 
Pandemic Prayerbook - compiled by Darcy Wiley Guide to Self-Care for Families Together at Home - from SALT
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Blessing in the Chaos
To all that is chaotic in you, let there come silence. Let there be a calming of the clamoring, a stilling of the voices that have laid their claim on you, that have made their home in you, that go with you even to the holy places but will not let you rest, will not let you hear your life with wholeness or feel the grace that fashioned you. Let what distracts you cease. Let what divides you cease. Let there come an end to what diminishes and demeans, and let depart all that keeps you in its cage. Let there be an opening into the quiet that lies beneath the chaos, where you find the peace you did not think possible and see what shimmers within the storm. - Jan Richardson from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief |
Lockdown - Brother Richard Hendrick
Yes there is fear. Yes there is isolation. Yes there is panic buying. Yes there is sickness. Yes there is even death. But, They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise You can hear the birds again. They say that after just a few weeks of quiet The sky is no longer thick with fumes But blue and grey and clear. They say that in the streets of Assisi People are singing to each other across the empty squares, keeping their windows open so that those who are alone may hear the sounds of family around them. They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound. Today a young woman I know is busy spreading fliers with her number through the neighbourhood So that the elders may have someone to call on. Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way All over the world people are waking up to a new reality To how big we really are. To how little control we really have. To what really matters. To Love. So we pray and we remember that Yes there is fear. But there does not have to be hate. Yes there is isolation. But there does not have to be loneliness. Yes there is panic buying. But there does not have to be meanness. Yes there is sickness. But there does not have to be disease of the soul Yes there is even death. But there can always be a rebirth of love. Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now. Today, breathe. Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic The birds are singing again The sky is clearing, Spring is coming, And we are always encompassed by Love. Open the windows of your soul And though you may not be able to touch across the empty square, Sing. |
