Dear People of St. James’,
It’s time for your monthly COVID-19 Update from St. James’.
As summer wins the battle against spring and as more of our worshipping community is vaccinated, we are making some changes:
– We are no longer requiring online registration for in person worship services.
– As of Easter Day, we have moved the Eucharist in Spanish back to its 1 pm time, and the online service in Spanish will be at 10:30 am on Zoom.
– As of April 18, the 10:30 am in person service will regularly take place inside the sanctuary, like the 8 am. Masks and social distancing will still be required. Music will be adapted accordingly, allowing for limited congregational singing while masked and distanced.
– Thanks to a Thomas Cain Grant from the Diocese of Texas, we will be installing audio/visual equipment which will allow us to reliably livestream our in person services instead of producing a weekly video. We expect that all of this equipment will be installed and staff will be trained to use it by Trinity Sunday (May 30). We also expect that this AV work will resolve some of the persistent acoustic and hearing accessibility problems we have faced since we moved into the building in 2007.
Moving the 10:30 am service indoors will not only get us out of the heat and keep our spirits from growing faint, it will allow us to take advantage of livestreaming technology, so that those near and far can hear and see each other better. Moreover, it will relieve the staff of the tremendous work of compiling a weekly video for worship, and that will be an excellent thing as we move into the summer! We are also expecting to be able to livestream the 1 pm service in Spanish in order to reach those who cannot be present in person.
In case you are confused, here is our schedule of Sunday Services through Trinity Sunday, May 30.*
By 8 am, the online worship video is posted.
8 am: Rite I, in person, in the sanctuary
10:30 am: Rite II, in person in the sanctuary & online Zoom service in Spanish
1:00 pm: Rito II, in person, in Spanish
4:00 pm: Children’s Service, in person (April 18, May 2, 16, AND 23 because Pentecost)
5:30 pm: Zoom Night Prayer & Bible Study
*This schedule will change if hospitalizations surge again. If there is more demand for the 10:30 am service than we can accommodate given the limits of our sanctuary, we have a few different strategies in mind for adding another in person service.
The Vestry has also approved a set of guidelines that provide for outdoor expressions of hospitality through food and coffee. These guidelines are informed by the CDC guidelines and the limitations of our food preparation spaces. If you are part of a group that would like to eat together or provide hospitality, have a conversation with Aimee Estep (office@stjamesaustin.org) before you gather.
I am so grateful to the network we work with to help get parishioners and neighbors vaccinated, to our dauntless staff, and to our Vestry for their wisdom, and to our volunteers for their heartfelt efforts to keep our community at its work of setting tables of welcome for all!
Rev. Eileen
