Susan McAlpine
March 15,2020
Chair of the Board Susan McAlpine updates us on Knox responses to COVID -19
For your COVID-19 reference:
Keeping Knox and our neighbours safe and connected during COVID-19 is a key priority for all of us. Our Go-Team, which we advised you about on March 12, has continued to work diligently to make decisions about the coming weeks.
Social Distancing will be the order of the day today. It’s one of the most effective ways to limit the transmission of disease. Please work hard to maintain 6 feet of distance between yourself and others, both here and out in the community. It’s easier said than done. But if you can reach out and touch someone, you really are too close.
Please also continue to wash your hands vigilantly, and refrain from touching your face.
One of the hardest decisions we’ve made was to cancel the Sunday Social event. We didn’t feel we could ensure adequate social distancing. Our max seating capacity is below that of a “Mass Gathering”, but it would have been cozy, regardless.
The other difficult news is that the BC Chief Medical Officer has advised that gatherings of 50 people or more in a high-risk category is no longer permitted. Even though Worship services aren’t specifically identified in her statement, the Go-Team has taken the most conservative interpretation. Since most of us are in the high-risk category, this will be our last worship service all together in the same space until further notice. We’ve cancelled Fellowship time after worship today for the same reason.
Starting now, we want to ask you to make use of the Knox Website so you won’t miss any updates, and to participate in virtual practices of our faith.
Here’s what we’re doing:
Worship will be conducted by Rev. Richard with Colleen & Madelene, and will be recorded and uploaded onto the website by Debra for 10:30 AM on Sundays. You may gather with your family and your Knox family virtually at that time to participate in worship from a safe distance. If you don’t have a computer, please chat with others in the congregation to see if you can join them at home on Sunday mornings. We will be sending out a link for this site. Our congregation began this way — worshiping in a home – so we’re getting back to our roots, but in a modern way.
A Prayer Requests page will be available to submit your requests.
We’ll have a Sharing page: The idea for this page is that you can email us updates, photos of your activities, or ideas for interesting things to do while in self-isolation. We’ll upload it for you onto the website. So for example, you might send a short letter with news from your home. Or you might snap a photo – eg. on a nature walk or during a Scrabble game – and send it our way with friendly greetings to the congregation.
*You can also use the MESSAGE US BUTTON on every page of the website to share with us.
To date, our renters will continue to use our space unless they decide otherwise (Little Kickers has indicated that they’re suspending activities for now). Our staff will be here, keeping operations running. So, if you visit the building for any reason, please continue to maintain social distancing, and please be vigilant about hand washing and not touching your face.
Thank you for your patience and conscientiousness in these exceptional times. Please set a good example for others, and ensure their safety by practicing diligent sanitary behaviours and social distancing. Be understanding, and make conservative choices to protect others as well as yourself. We exist to love God and our neighbours.