Dear friends and members of Franklin United Methodist Church,
As I am sure you are all aware, the pandemic lingers on and positive cases of COVID-19 are on the rise. The Delta variant is causing an end of summer spike in cases around the country including here in Franklin. You can find the total positive cases and percent positivity for the last 14 days for the Town of Franklin along with occupied ICU beds in the MetroWest area and vaccination rates for Norfolk County below.
The shading on the above data follows our Metrics for Safer Gatherings. We no longer follow these metrics, but they are a good point of reference.
On Sunday, the Church Council met and, among other things, discussed our on-going response to the pandemic. In light of current trends, the Church Council voted unanimously to reinstate masking while inside the Franklin United Methodist Church. Masks should be worn over the mouth and nose by all persons, vaccinated or not, at all indoor gatherings—worship, small groups, and work teams. Except for this new masking protocol, all other protocols adopted at the last two Church Council meetings remain in effect (see here and here). As an added precaution, we will cease weekly communion for the time being.
In other, more exciting news from the Church Council meeting, the budget has been updated and the Personnel Committee will renew its search for a regular church musician. I hope to begin scheduling in-person musicians to accompany worship beginning in September! This will dramatically enhance our worship together.
If you have any questions about these decisions, or you just want to talk, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly. Thank you for your continued support and understanding through these difficult times. Be safe. Get vaccinated (if you’re eligible).
I look forward to seeing you in worship—online or in-person—this Sunday at 10am.
Peace.
Pastor Jacob