Reference

Leaside United Church COVID Response Team Update | June 10, 2020

With the provincial government announcement that some regional places of worship in Ontario are now permitted to open at 30% capacity, you might be wondering what is happening at Leaside United Church. We have made the decision to delay reopening of any church activities, including worship until the fall at the very earliest.

There are many reasons for this, including continuing high rates of infection in Toronto, recommendations from the wider United Church, recognizing many of our members are over 70, immunocompromised and in other ways high risk for complications from COVID 19, and our ongoing church renovations. Later in the summer, we will continue our evaluation as to the best time to reopen our church.

Our Team has already begun working on model for whenever we do return to worship in the building. These include no print bulletins, roping off pews to create social distancing, no choir or congregational singing, and no coffee and conversation time.

As we continue keeping our distance wherever possible, we can focus on the positives of how we are able to connect and worship together right now – including sharing music, reflection and prayer on both Zoom and YouTube, connecting with one another every week on Meet U @ Zoom, and enjoying virtual choirs, podcasts, and additional worship opportunities including a Taize style service. Together – from a distance – we can worship and we can do the holy work of caring for one another and bringing compassion and justice into our world.

Our Team is dedicated to meet and exceed the Ontario government and Public Health regulations and guidelines to ensure the safety of our congregation.

Respectfully,

Leaside United Church COVID Response Team and Church Council