January 2021 COVID-19 Advisory Task Force Update.
Moving into 2021, our church and community stand hopeful in the fight against COVID-19 thanks to the beginning stages of the vaccination process. As vaccines are administered to front line workers and vulnerable populations, we are eager to see an expanded, tiered roll-out in Dallas County in the coming months. This development brings us closer to the SEE principle we’ve focused on since the creation of the Task Force — providing a Safe Experience for Every Body.
This progress comes at a crucial time given the exponential rise in COVID-19 numbers taxing our local hospitals and overwhelming our healthcare community. As responsible community members, we remain steadfast in ensuring we do our part as a congregation to limit exposure opportunities to aid in the health and safety of our members and neighbors.
What we learned in recent months is that we can build on the successful, safe gatherings we began exploring during the latter part of 2020. From the Church in the Lot evening services and Christmas Eve drive-in service, to controlled activities that allowed us to welcome 10 people or less via the Honest Advent timed activities, we found ways to meaningfully engage in person. We move into the beginning of 2021 with anticipation for building and expanding on these kinds of activities to find additional ways to stay connected as a community of faith — while staying safe.
We are excited to note that the task force is exploring ways to incrementally add activities with more people as it deemed safe to do so. Our diligent sub-group committee members are evaluating a risk-level model based on exposure rate and group size analysis based off a collegiate model.
We are positively preparing the path for when we can re-gather. Staying connected remains a priority focus. Thank you for continuing to stay connected online as we continue to seek innovative opportunities to join in person.