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Hello and welcome to COVID Communiqué 41. Recent days have brought rapid changes in the status of many regions as COVID-19 variants emerge; medical experts continue to stress the need for extreme caution. We’re convinced keeping up the measures for staying safe while waiting to see how the variants behave — and how vaccine delivery plans shape up — is the most responsible way to proceed.

Therefore, the plan for reopening our churches to in-person worship, which we promised two weeks ago, must remain tentative because it’s conditional on how government restrictions and public health advice evolve. However, we hope on March 17 to confirm a plan to allow our diocese to move into Amber stage on Palm Sunday, March 28. This would allow clergy and lay leaders 10 days to prepare for in-person Amber worship, if they feel that is the best choice for their parish.  

Bishop Shane wants to avoid the stressful and demoralizing situation where we reopen prematurely, only to have to go back into lockdown again soon after. As he put it: “It is wise to remain in Red stage during the entire season of Lent, in the hopeful expectation that we can safely reopen on Palm Sunday, and then take the Holy Week journey to Easter with a sense that this is the beginning of the way out of this pandemic.”

However, although our churches must remain closed to in-person worship until at least March 27, there is some good news on the financial front. On the recommendation of our Property & Finance Committee, Diocesan Council has approved financial relief for all parishes for the month of March. You can read a letter from our Director of Financial Ministries here. 

If you have any questions about this or other issues, please contact the COVID-19 help desk: C19helpdesk@ottawa.anglican.ca. 

COVID Communiqué is produced by our senior staff:
Shane Parker, Bishop
Beth Bretzlaff, Dean
Linda Hill, Executive Archdeacon
Sanjay Grover, Director of Financial Ministry
Peter John Hobbs, Director of Community Ministries
Jane Scanlon, Director of Communications & Stewardship Development
Carol Sinclair, Director of Human Resources
Michael Garner, Public Health Advisor