COVID-19 Advisory Task Force Update, December 18
With Christmas fast approaching and the effects of Thanksgiving travel and gatherings still unfolding, it’s easy to settle into a spirit of pessimism as to when life will once again be “normal.” The COVID-19 numbers are not improving, nor are they forecasted to as we look to the early part of 2021.
Even as approved vaccines are starting to reach people, the full details of distribution and availability are far from worked out. In this in-between time, Wilshire’s COVID-19 Advisory Task Force continues to meet regularly in order to proactively prepare ourselves for the time when we can all be back together.
There are many ways in which the pandemic has forced the church to pivot and adapt our offerings, and our beloved Advent traditions are the latest examples. Hanging of the Green may have moved online, but its spirit of joyous collaboration and creativity endured. We’ve heard your positive feedback in comments like these:
“Y’all, I’m crying over here. While we aren’t physically with each other right now, the Spirit is strong tonight.”
—YouTube chat during Hanging of the Green premiere
“You are helping to keep us together even when we cannot be together.”
—Facebook post after Hanging of the Green
We found a creative way to bring people safely back into the Sanctuary with our Honest Advent Experience, and your response has been overwhelming:
“While we prefer to be at church with all the people, these few minutes being inside for the first time in so long were a gift in this long waiting that has already been going on.”
—Facebook post from Honest Advent Experience attendee
The memories we are building together during this time will be with us forever. Someday, we will look back and say, “remember when…?” We will continue to be as creative as possible and look for ways to celebrate progress until that day comes. In the meantime, stay connected, please wear your masks, limit your gatherings — even at Christmas — and play it safe.