Beginning Sunday, July 19, 2020, Grace UM Church will not conduct in person worship. The closure will continue for two Sundays, at least. We will continue to offer televised and online access to worship conducted in the sanctuary. The reasons for this action are:
Gov. Wolf has reinstated the rule that limits gatherings to 25 people or less.
Even though churches are exempt from this rule there is nothing about the Corona virus that makes 25 people in a church building less likely to spread the virus than 25 people in a restaurant, or other gathering place.
We know this may be an overreaction, an unnecessary precaution. However, we would rather make the mistake that contributes to our members’ safety than the mistake that could makes some members seriously ill or even to die.
The Corona Virus is here in Venango County. The Derrick reported that at least one person tested positive to C-19 after having attended a bingo night at the Rocky Grove fire hall. It was a week before the public was notified of this exposure. It is logical to assume that some of the people at the fire hall were exposed. If they contracted the disease, they continued to contact other people for at least a week without knowing. It isn’t known if anyone at the fire hall has or will test positive. However if one such incident occurred it is likely that there have been and will be other similar incidents, and that is what it takes to spread a communicable disease.
We feel we have to do what we can to limit further spread of C-19. Only by changing our behavior (Wear a Mask, Wash or Sanitize Hands, Practice Distancing, which closing the sanctuary will do) can we change the present spike in the spread.