Update Regarding COVID-19

We cannot begin to express our feelings of gratitude when it comes to seeing more and more members return to our church buildings to worship Christ together in person.  We are grateful for the mindfulness you have displayed during the past year, whether it be mask wearing, social distancing, or following other guidelines and protocols we have been encouraged by our government and church leaders to follow.  We also express gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the remarkable miracle of the COVID-19 vaccination.  As the Church has formally written in its General Handbook, “Vaccinations administered by competent medical professionals protect health and preserve life.”  “Members of the Church are encouraged to safeguard themselves, their children, and their communities through vaccination.”  Ultimately, you are to make your own decision about vaccination.  We, however, echo the Church’s instructions and the example our dear prophet has set, which is to receive promptly this miracle and get vaccinated as soon as possible if your personal circumstances allow it.

Now, as our Area Presidency wrote in its letter late last week, we are getting closer to a time when we can return to our normal church meetings and activities.  We met with our High Council, Bishops, and Stake Sister Leaders on Sunday to discuss what changes should take place now, and some that should wait for a little while longer.  Those discussions have been helpful, especially since those groups include medical professionals who provided medical insight to us concerning what is safe.  Those discussions, as well as many others over the past many months, have helped us understand that the priority should be to get our youth back to associating with their friends, teachers, and leaders as soon as possible.  With that emphasis in mind, we are excited to announce that the following changes will take place beginning immediately:

SUNDAY MEETING SCHEDULES

Many wards adjusted their meeting block schedules to accommodate scheduling challenges that arose during the pandemic.  To facilitate many of the changes below and to prepare for additional changes that will come soon, all wards will resume their normal meeting schedule block.  Again, this is effective this Sunday, April 18^th.  Here is a reminder of that schedule:

	Sacrament Meeting	Second Hour Meetings*
P1, P3, and P4	9 am – 10 am	10:10 am – 11 am
P5, P6, and PSA	Noon – 1 pm	1:10 pm – 2 pm

Those wards who, due to size, must continue to rotate groups for sacrament, may elect to begin the second-hour meeting 10-15 minutes later to accommodate those who are coming from home to attend the second hour meeting in person.  Your bishop will let you know of any such accommodations.

YOUTH ACTIVITIES

Ward youth activities may occur weekly, so long as those who attend continue to follow the recommended practices.  In other words, masks must be worn by all participants and social distancing should be maintained.  Combined activities, whether combining classes/quorums or YM and YW, may occur occasionally, i.e., at the pace they were occurring normally pre-COVID.

YOUTH SUNDAY MEETINGS

The second-hour meetings for the youth (those in the Young Women or Young Men programs) will be taught in person at the ward building.  As they are required to do in school, all who attend must wear masks and maintain three feet of distance among one another.  These meetings will be streamed from the church (via Zoom, Teams, or some other similar platform) to accommodate any who are uncomfortable or otherwise unable to attend in person.  If a teacher needs assistance setting up streaming capability for his or her class, please contact your ward’s technology specialist or bishopric member.  For wards that continue to have rotating groups attend sacrament due to size (e.g., A-L on the first Sunday, K-Z on the second, etc.), the youth associated with the “off” week will still be encouraged to arrive at the church for the second hour.

ADULT SECOND-HOUR MEETINGS

Adult Sunday School, Relief Society, and Elders Quorum will continue to occur remotely to allow the immediate changes to focus on the youth.  We are working to ensure the logistics are in order to allow all second-hour meetings to happen in person soon, perhaps around June 1^st. 

PRIMARY SECOND-HOUR MEETINGS

We are working to receive guidance from our Area Presidency concerning the resumption of second-hour Primary.  In the meantime, the Stake Primary Presidency is working with ward Primary leaders to ensure, at the very least, logistics are in place soon to allow for virtual Primary classes to take place on Sundays.  We hope to have a more detailed update to you shortly concerning Primary.

SACRAMENT MEETING PROTOCOLS

Thank you for your adherence to the many guidelines and protocols COVID-19 created, and that have helped us arrive to this point where the end is in sight.  Many of those protocols must continue (e.g., masks and distancing), while others may be discontinued.  Here is a summary of some of the changes you can expect to continue and some that will end:

COVID-19 Practice	Continue?	Explanation
Streaming Sacrament Program	YES	While we are grateful our sacrament meetings are growing in attendance, our leaders have made clear that streaming the program portion of the meeting will continue for the foreseeable future for those who are not comfortable or otherwise able to attend in person.
Wiping Surfaces	NO	The CDC recently made clear that the risk of surface transmission is low (1:10,000).  That, combined with the increased vaccination rates in our area, suggest wiping surfaces (e.g., pulpit, benches, chairs, etc.) is no longer necessary.
Socially Distanced Seating	YES	Leaving every other bench open allows the sacrament to continue to be passed to each member individually by the person passing the sacrament.  We believe this is still good practice, but look forward to a time soon when we can fill each row.
Sacrament Cups Spacing	NO	In light of the low risk that people touch sacrament cups beyond their own, combined with positive vaccination rates, sacrament cups will fill each tray opening.  Bread pieces will continue to be placed in sacrament cups to ensure each bread piece is separated from the others.
No Singing	NO	Singing in sacrament meeting will resume.  The research we’ve reviewed and the advice we’ve received from doctors in the Stake suggest there is little to no risk that singing, while distanced and masked, abnormally spreads COVID-19.  We also believe that the vaccination trend we’re seeing mitigates any risk that may exist.  Choirs are still not allowed, although small musical groups (distanced, unless of the same household or all vaccinated) are allowed.  Hymn books will be returned to the benches and made available for use.  For now, hymns will be limited to no more than two verses.  We look forward to singing all the verses soon.
Limited Restrooms	NO	All restrooms will be open and available to use.
Limited Building Entrances	NO	All usual building entrances will be open and available to use.

All protocols not mentioned above will continue, e.g., those administrating the sacrament must sanitize before each emblem is blessed and passed, disposal trays should continue to be used during the passing of the sacrament, households should sit distanced from other people during sacrament, etc. 

We hope that these details will help avoid confusion as we progress toward returning to normal.  We are confident many of you will have questions along the way, so please do not hesitate to contact your bishoprics for more information.  Of course, you are always welcome to contact any of us if we can be helpful.  May the Lord continue to bless us, our neighborhoods, and our broader communities, as we recognize His hand in the many miracles that are occurring that have us hopeful normal will resume very, very soon. 

Sincerely,

Matthew T. Wirthlin

Samuel C. Straight

Timothy K. Conde