Winthrop Congregational Church, UCCNo matter who you are. No matter where you are on life's journey... you are welcome here!
Wash Your Hands, Call Each other, and Keep Praying: Our Christian Response to COVID-19
Our church community endeavors to accept and embrace all who enter here. We welcome individuals of every race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, family structure, marital standing, socio-economic status, age, physical and mental ability to join us in the ministry of our church. All are invited to participate in worship, fellowship, and leadership
**Update on 3/15/20: We will not be having in-person worship at the church building on March 15th, 22nd, and 29th of 2020. Please go to the church Facebook page for updates regarding worship activities in this time of social distancing(https://www.facebook.com/WinthropUCC).
Beloveds in Christ,
I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Matthew 25:35-36 NRSV
As you may have heard, we now have our first diagnosed cases of COVID-19, a new type of corona virus, here in Maine. During worship last Sunday, we had already begun to make some changes in our common life together in order to slow the spread of disease in our community. While it does us no good to panic, we are wise to make significant changes to how we function as the body of Christ in order to make sure that the people in both our church and the wider community are as safe as possible. When Jesus described what it meant to follow him, as he did in Matthew 25, he always centered the needs of the most vulnerable in the population. We are called to follow his direction, in whatever our circumstances. At this moment, our circumstances demand that we attend to a new, fast-moving virus.
Every day, it seems like there is new and sometimes conflicting information about COVID-19. Our best research, right now, is saying that we can pass along the COVID-19 virus well before we begin to feel sick. I personally have heard conflicting accounts of how long the virus is active outside of the human body, so it is hard to say how long shared surfaces remain contaminated. The Governor has called for cancellations of events of greater than 250 people. We have about 100 people come through our church each week, between worship and community events. Several of our local school systems have cancelled all after school activities and asked non-school related groups not to rent their space for a while. Most of the local colleges are shifting to online learning models. This might seem excessive, but, many people, our church leadership included, would rather be too careful than to risk the health of our church members and our town.
Recently, church leadership (including the deacons, the fish chowder organizers, the trustees, and the church council) have set time aside to develop virus response policies that are in line with our values as people of faith. Based on the best research and best practices we have been able to find, the following commitments have guided our thinking:
Our church leadership had to make decisions regarding the following parts of our common life:
We are in the midst of writing up our entire virus response policy, but wanted to get this letter out first in order to let you know a couple things.
1. We will continue to worship together in person until 1) there is a formal call for restriction on activities or quarantine by the United Church of Christ or by governmental officials or 2) until we have confirmed cases in the towns of Winthrop, Wayne, Manchester, Readfield, Monmouth, or Fayette or 3) until we learn that someone who has been actively involved in our congregational life or the AA meetings we host has a confirmed diagnosis.
2. We are asking all members and attendees to commit to a covenant of mutual support. Here are the promises we are asking you to make: You will continue to pray with and for one another. You will opt out of church activities if you have a fever or a cough. You will contact church leadership if you have come into contact with someone who has been diagnosed as having the virus. And, you will engage the sick and quarantined with compassion and care. It is important to be aware that these practices will keep us all the most well and the most connected to one another. This is what it means to be church right now.
3. At this time, outside of communion on Easter, we will not be sharing any food at church. You are welcome to bring your own snacks. But, the burden of assuring no contamination with shared food is very high. Out of an abundance of caution, we will not be having fish chowder lunches in March, April, or May. And, we won't be sharing food during fellowship time after church.
4. We need folks who are willing to call each other and make cards for people to keep in touch with one another. So much of the depth and beauty of church is in seeing one another and being together physically. In the coming days and weeks, out of personal concern or community mandate, we may not be able to spend the same amount of time together. Cards and calls will help us take care of one another.
5. Pastor Chrissy will be shifting all of her pastoral care check-ins to phone visits instead of in-person visits, except in extreme emergencies. We are aware of a pastor in Washington DC who was diagnosed after having served his 500 person congregation communion. They have all had to be quarantined. Pastor Chrissy wants to make sure she plays a part in keeping everyone healthy.
As stated earlier, a more complete outline of our policies is coming. We thank you in advance for your patience and grace as we are making decisions in a situation that is changing very quickly. If you have any questions or concerns or just want to check in, please call Pastor Chrissy (865-773-5151 or email pastorchrissywcc@gmail.com) or Dana Hall (dcdhalls@roadrunner.com).
In the meantime, pray for the healthcare workers and policy makers. Pray for us, as we are still learning what it means to be church in a pandemic. And, finally: Wash your hands. Don't panic and buy too much toilet paper. Call your neighbors. Buy a little extra soap for the food pantry.
We can still be church. We just have to do it a little differently for a while.
Pastor Chrissy Cataldo
Hariph Smith, Church Moderator
Dana Hall, Chair of the Board of Deacons
**Update on 3/15/20: We will not be having in-person worship at the church building on March 15th, 22nd, and 29th of 2020. Please go to the church Facebook page for updates regarding worship activities in this time of social distancing(https://www.facebook.com/WinthropUCC).
Beloveds in Christ,
I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Matthew 25:35-36 NRSV
As you may have heard, we now have our first diagnosed cases of COVID-19, a new type of corona virus, here in Maine. During worship last Sunday, we had already begun to make some changes in our common life together in order to slow the spread of disease in our community. While it does us no good to panic, we are wise to make significant changes to how we function as the body of Christ in order to make sure that the people in both our church and the wider community are as safe as possible. When Jesus described what it meant to follow him, as he did in Matthew 25, he always centered the needs of the most vulnerable in the population. We are called to follow his direction, in whatever our circumstances. At this moment, our circumstances demand that we attend to a new, fast-moving virus.
Every day, it seems like there is new and sometimes conflicting information about COVID-19. Our best research, right now, is saying that we can pass along the COVID-19 virus well before we begin to feel sick. I personally have heard conflicting accounts of how long the virus is active outside of the human body, so it is hard to say how long shared surfaces remain contaminated. The Governor has called for cancellations of events of greater than 250 people. We have about 100 people come through our church each week, between worship and community events. Several of our local school systems have cancelled all after school activities and asked non-school related groups not to rent their space for a while. Most of the local colleges are shifting to online learning models. This might seem excessive, but, many people, our church leadership included, would rather be too careful than to risk the health of our church members and our town.
Recently, church leadership (including the deacons, the fish chowder organizers, the trustees, and the church council) have set time aside to develop virus response policies that are in line with our values as people of faith. Based on the best research and best practices we have been able to find, the following commitments have guided our thinking:
- Caring for the most vulnerable in our population is of primary importance.
- Care for our neighbor is vitally important. In our country, caring for our neighbor means we slow the rates of infection so as not to overwhelm our health system. If a lot of people get very sick very quickly, our hospitals will not be able to keep up. We need to do our best to slow the rates of infection. Here is an article that explains more: https://www.vox.com/2020/3/10/21171481/coronavirus-us-cases-quarantine-cancellation?fbclid=IwAR1rXs_nhUkyfKu0EEWWB7gpjfZXbmh_OWsMhpiggqArt-X4QYbCUyb1-gs
- Maintaining connection, whether in person or via phone calls and emails, is vitally important.
Our church leadership had to make decisions regarding the following parts of our common life:
- how we worship together
- how we host people in our building
- how we stay connected during times of social distancing and potential quarantine
We are in the midst of writing up our entire virus response policy, but wanted to get this letter out first in order to let you know a couple things.
1. We will continue to worship together in person until 1) there is a formal call for restriction on activities or quarantine by the United Church of Christ or by governmental officials or 2) until we have confirmed cases in the towns of Winthrop, Wayne, Manchester, Readfield, Monmouth, or Fayette or 3) until we learn that someone who has been actively involved in our congregational life or the AA meetings we host has a confirmed diagnosis.
2. We are asking all members and attendees to commit to a covenant of mutual support. Here are the promises we are asking you to make: You will continue to pray with and for one another. You will opt out of church activities if you have a fever or a cough. You will contact church leadership if you have come into contact with someone who has been diagnosed as having the virus. And, you will engage the sick and quarantined with compassion and care. It is important to be aware that these practices will keep us all the most well and the most connected to one another. This is what it means to be church right now.
3. At this time, outside of communion on Easter, we will not be sharing any food at church. You are welcome to bring your own snacks. But, the burden of assuring no contamination with shared food is very high. Out of an abundance of caution, we will not be having fish chowder lunches in March, April, or May. And, we won't be sharing food during fellowship time after church.
4. We need folks who are willing to call each other and make cards for people to keep in touch with one another. So much of the depth and beauty of church is in seeing one another and being together physically. In the coming days and weeks, out of personal concern or community mandate, we may not be able to spend the same amount of time together. Cards and calls will help us take care of one another.
5. Pastor Chrissy will be shifting all of her pastoral care check-ins to phone visits instead of in-person visits, except in extreme emergencies. We are aware of a pastor in Washington DC who was diagnosed after having served his 500 person congregation communion. They have all had to be quarantined. Pastor Chrissy wants to make sure she plays a part in keeping everyone healthy.
As stated earlier, a more complete outline of our policies is coming. We thank you in advance for your patience and grace as we are making decisions in a situation that is changing very quickly. If you have any questions or concerns or just want to check in, please call Pastor Chrissy (865-773-5151 or email pastorchrissywcc@gmail.com) or Dana Hall (dcdhalls@roadrunner.com).
In the meantime, pray for the healthcare workers and policy makers. Pray for us, as we are still learning what it means to be church in a pandemic. And, finally: Wash your hands. Don't panic and buy too much toilet paper. Call your neighbors. Buy a little extra soap for the food pantry.
We can still be church. We just have to do it a little differently for a while.
Pastor Chrissy Cataldo
Hariph Smith, Church Moderator
Dana Hall, Chair of the Board of Deacons
We are now gathering at our School Year Worship Hours
See you at 10 AM on Sunday mornings.
See you at 10 AM on Sunday mornings.
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We are an Open and Affirming Church.
What does that mean? No matter who you are... No matter what your occupation... No matter what your race or ethnicity... No matter what your age... No matter where you live... No matter what your sexuality or gender identity... No matter where you are on life's journey… You are God's child and you are welcome here. When do we worship together? Summer hours (Fourth Sunday of June through the Third Sunday of September) : Sunday, 9:30 am School year hours: Sunday, 10:00 am Where are we located? 10 Bowdoin Street, Winthrop, ME 04364 [on the corner of Main and Bowdoin streets] Click here for map. How can you reach us? Tel: (207) 377-2063 E-mail: wccucc@fairpoint.net Webpage: www.wccucc.org |
Church Office Hours
Cyndi's Office Hours Tuesday & Thursday: 9 am - 1 pm Pastor Cataldo's Office Hours Tuesday and Thursday: 9 am to 1 pm Mobility issues? Each floor of our church is accessible via elevator. |
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Minister: Pastor Chrissy Cataldo ~ Music Director: Christine Letcher ~ Office Administrator: Cyndi Hall
Our church is part of the United Church of Christ. For more information on The United Church of Christ (UCC), go to www.ucc.org.
More information on the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ can be found at www.maineucc.org.
More information on the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ can be found at www.maineucc.org.
