All Saints-by-the-Sea Continues Virtual Ministries

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In the months since COVID-19 changed the patterns of our lives, All Saints’ clergy, vestry, and staff have been carefully monitoring safety guidelines established by the state, county, and diocese to ensure that the decisions we make about our public life protect the lives and safety of our church members and our wider communities. We have all had to make radical changes to the way we conduct business, school, worship, even grocery shopping! I am proud of the care that the people of All Saints and that residents of Santa Barbara County have taken on behalf of the common good. I also know that we are all growing weary and are ready for things to get “back to normal.”

In recent weeks, the state, county and diocese have created new guidelines allowing for churches to resume in-person ministries at their churches. State and county guidelines restrict the size of gatherings to 25% of the full capacity of our worship space. This week, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles (EDLA) published guidelines detailing additional safety measures that need to be considered as we discern our readiness for resuming in-person worship and ministry. I encourage you to read the guidelines to understand more fully how our public worship will change once we are able to gather in person again. I also want to assure you that the EDLA’s efforts are consistent with efforts being made throughout the Episcopal Church and other denominational bodies throughout the country. Also helpful are the additional resources provided in the EDLA’s “Discerning our Readiness to Resume Physical Presence in Church.”

I and the vestry, having considered these guidelines, have determined that we are not able to resume in-person worship at this time. The restricted capacity of our Parish Hall would allow for an occupancy of only 23.5 people. In order to accommodate our congregation, we would need to hold 10 services a week, which is simply not sustainable for lay leaders, staff and clergy. We plan to continue Virtual Worship until social distancing guidelines are relaxed or until our sanctuary renovation is complete and ready for our return. Our highest goal is to honor God by taking great care of each precious life in this community, and beyond. As vestry member Marni McGee wrote, “To me, [delaying in-person worship] is the only way to express our love for one another. We show our love by protecting each other.”

In the meantime, All Saints will continue our robust and meaningful virtual ministries. We will continue to worship together 6 days of the week via Zoom and our Virtual Sunday Service. We will continue to minister to one another through Virtual Christian Formation, Outreach to our community, and ongoing Pastoral Care. We will also create a Task Force for Resuming Physical Presence in Church, consisting of clergy, lay leaders, and staff members. The Task Force will work together to determine how All Saints can adapt our practices to public health and diocesan guidelines to ensure the well-being of all who gather.

If you have any questions or feedback, we would be happy to hear them. You can communicate them to office@allsaintsbythesea.org, and we will make sure your question or concern is considered and responded to by church leadership.

Thank you all for your continued participation in All Saints’ ministries of Worship, Formation, Outreach and Pastoral Care, even in our physical distance. Our experience during these months has certainly confirmed that the church is not a building, but is the people worshiping God, forming the faithful, and ministering to one another and the world in the name of Christ’s redeeming love.

My prayers continue for each of you. May you know God’s abiding presence and peace in your life.

Rev. Aimée