Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We pray you are all doing well, staying healthy and continue to weather these stormy times. We would like to share information regarding a few upcoming events as well as additional direction regarding Sacrament Meeting.
We have decided that each ward will begin to plan some type of youth event, looking towards the end of the summer. These events could span a couple days or be a daylong event. Participants would need to return home at night if the event goes for more than one day.
The activities committee is actively planning a fun event for the morning of July 4th. It will not be a breakfast, but rather will have various components that are intended to reach as many of the stake population as possible as well as our neighbors and friends. These events will include a fun run (individually, not collectively), a car show, as well as a drive through celebration at the stake center. Please look for additional information as we get closer.
We have conducted Sacrament Meetings for a few weeks now and have started small in order to work out some issues and have attempted to be extremely cautious in our approach. Some wards have two meetings, some alternate based on name and some smaller wards are meeting all together each week. We have not seen any congregation exceed the 99 person limit. It has been wonderful to see some of you, although things are still not back to normal we feel that we are proceeding cautiously towards the new normal. CDC guidelines ask for 6 foot social distancing and use of mask when this social distancing is difficult to maintain. We have worked to have both as well as new and safe procedures for the sacrament. We believe that we have created an environment of safety and health.
We recognize that some are still hesitant to return and completely understand and support this. However, if you would like to return, even some who may have felt restrained before, we invite you to join us. We have set up some specific areas (the pews located on the right side of the chapel – facing the rostrum) with extra spacing for those in higher risk groups. We believe you can come to church without touching anything or being exposed to a risky situation. Again, we are simply trying to provide an opportunity – not a requirement, for those who would like to join. For those more comfortable staying at home may still continue to do so. We also ask a few things for those who do come to church:
We look forward to seeing you and hope if any of you have needs that you reach out to ministering brothers and sisters, neighbors or leaders.
With love,
the stake presidency