March 13, 2020 – Effective at 8 a.m. on Friday, March 13, 2020, St. John’s Church has regretfully decided to close our building to all activities in response to the growing COVID-19 health crisis. The St. John’s vestry voted unanimously to take this step last night, given our responsibility to help contain this illness by encouraging “social distancing.” The closure applies to all events scheduled in the church building, including worship, church meetings, meetings of outside groups, and special events. Again, all meetings and events scheduled to take place at St. John’s between today, Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 28 — whether sponsored by the church or by an outside group — are cancelled, and the cancellations may be extended beyond that date.

Using our technology to live stream our services, we will continue to provide a 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday mornings for off-site video viewing only. There will be no one in the church but the celebrant, the preacher and the organist. The service will be available for viewing on YouTube and on Facebook, as it is every Sunday. If you subscribe to our Youtube channel, you’ll receive notifications about when we go live and when new videos are available. Following us on Facebook is another great option to stay informed and connected.

We will remain closed for a minimum of two weeks, at which time the vestry will assess the situation and may extend the closure as necessary.  If you are involved in an event at St. John’s sponsored by an outside group, please contact them to ask about alternate plans. Anyone who is planning events at St. John’s on or after Sunday, March 29 should consider alternate plans in the event that our closure is extended.

Serving as a welcoming space for so many groups and events, from worship services and concerts to classes and support groups, is central to St. John’s ministry in our community. We regret the need to close our doors for now, and apologize for the inconvenience.

During the next two weeks, St. John’s staff and clergy will be working and accessible by e-mail and phone, so please don’t hesitate to reach out. We will keep you posted on decisions made going forward. We hope that you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy in the weeks to come.