Hello,
First, I want to say that I miss being together in person and seeing all your faces. However, there are three facts I wish to update you on when it comes to our physical gatherings:
1) The state of New York currently prohibits any religious gatherings (other than 10 or less people for a Memorial Day service).
2) All public schools (including PS41Q where we meet) are still closed.
3) Our decision to suspend in person gatherings was never based primarily on the above, but rather in concern for the safety of our congregation. (click to see March 13, 2020 letter to the church). This is a decision that will likely take some time, thought and process, for we as a church hold a responsibility to not just adhere to the laws of our government but also to love our neighbors well. I leave you with this quote from the theologian Martin Luther, who spoke these words during the Bubonic Plague of the 1500's:
“I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me however I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.”
With Love,
David
