COVID-19 Response

May 26 Update
SUNDAY SERVICES
Open to the Public with Restrictions
 
8:00 a.m. & 10:15 a.m. with social distancing guidelines
outlined in our May 26 Update posted on this page
 
10:15 a.m. also Streamed via Facebook Live
*will be posted after service viewing
 
Please "Like" St. Mark's Episcopal Church Tampa
on Facebook to worship from home.
Download service bulletins and visit our live stream archive 
Dear Saints of God,
 
For the last several weeks a Safe to Open Committee has been working on procedures and protocols that would allow St Mark to resume public worship when the time was deemed right.  The ultimate goal of the committee is to mitigate the potential risks associated with large gatherings. 
 
The committee members include: Susie Juarez, Fran Weising, Ken Duncan, Fr. Livan and Luz Amalia (St. Francis), and Fr. Bob.  The team was tasked with monitoring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and Diocesan directives recommending to our Vestry best practices that suit our particular environment and congregations.
 
Our Bishop has given permission to the churches in the Diocese of Southwest Florida to conduct in person worship with up to 25% of maximum occupancy.  We must maintain appropriate social distancing protocols as recommended by the CDC including the 6 foot physical distance rule.   
 
St. Mark will be resuming public worship on May 31 at both the 8:00 and 10:15 services. St. Francis will also resume public worship that day.
 
We have committed to continuing live streaming the 10:15 service indefinitely.
 
When St. Mark resumes in-person services on May 31st, 2020 should you return right away? 
We realize that for some of you with underlying health conditions or caring for someone who is compromised, this can be a difficult decision.  We are taking all necessary precautions as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure your safety. 
However, the CDC does recommend those in High Risk categories are “Safer at Home”. 
Who is in a high risk category?  Based on what we know now, those at high-risk for severe illness from COVID-19 are:
  • People 65 years and older
  • People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility
  • People of all ages with underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled, including:
    • People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma
    • People who have serious heart conditions
    • People who are immunocompromised
    • Many conditions can cause a person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications
    • People with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher)
    • People with diabetes
    • People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis
    • People with liver disease
 
If you have any questions related to your condition, please consult your personal physician. 

Protocols and procedures implemented to resume public worship at St. Mark
  • We will be opening with Worship Only status.
    • No beverage service of any kind, no breakfast ministry, and no coffee hour until further notice. 
    • The parish hall will be closed to any fellowship gathering on Sunday.
  • Altar team, ushers, cantors, and priests will have temperatures taken and recorded before serving by one of the parish nurses.   
  • Nursery, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd rooms will be closed.
  • No more than 84 people may attend a service in the sanctuary; which is our 25% capacity plus altar team.
    •  We will have overflow capacity in the atrium if needed.
  • All traffic will be routed through the Narthex to enter and exit the sanctuary.
    • Atrium doors will not be opened.
  • It is strongly recommended that all persons, two years and older, wear a mask at services.
    • We have a limited supply of masks for people who forget theirs.
    • We recommend that families with children under two continue to worship safely at home given  the Inflammatory Syndrome concerns associated with COVID-19.
  • Ushers will be trained to help facilitate entering and departing from worship.
    • They will be charged with asking people to stand 6 feet apart while they wait to enter the church building.
    • They will also be solely responsible for opening and closing sanctuary / narthex doors.
  • Do not expect to sit in your “normal spot”.
    • The layout of the sanctuary has been modified to ensure physical distancing protocols are maintained.
  • There will be no prayer books, hymnals, or bibles available at any service.
  • There will be no congregational singing.
    • We will continue to be led in worship by a single cantor (or couple).
  • Communion will be offered in one kind only per Bishop Smith’s directive.
  • A contactless  "Peace" will be offered from a distance by waving or bowing only.
  • No Order of Saint Luke prayer stations will be offered.
  • Offerings will not be collected by passing a plate.
    • Collection plates will be placed by the fount.
  • To keep the service timely, there will be limited announcements, except to give direction.
    • Everyone is encouraged to read their emails from the church to keep up with what is happening.
  • As we open, we will continue to limit the use of our facilities to ensure safe practices.
    • All meetings must be able to maintain safe practices (face masks, 6 feet distancing, etc).
Significant additions to the sanitization of the sanctuary between services.
On the recommendation of the Safe to Open Committee, the Vestry of St. Mark created a position for a Sunday Sexton working between the hours of 9:00 and 2:00.  The duties of this person are very specific essentially tasked with the sanitizing of the sanctuary as well as frequent cleaning and disinfecting of the bathroom. 
 
Additionally, we have purchased a COVID-19 approved misting sanitizer with the appropriate chemicals.  The sexton will sanitize all of the pews along with a significant list of items that are touched between the services. 
 
Conclusion
Although I am excited to begin public worship, and looking forward to seeing our parish family, the first concern is the safety and well being of all people.  We will closely monitor the science and recommendations from the CDC as well as the direction from our Bishop and make modifications as appropriate.  We expect that this will continue to be a fast evolving situation and sudden changes in course may be necessary.
 
If you have questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact myself, anyone on the Safe to Open Committee, or the members of the Vestry.  Our numbers and emails are in the directory. 
 
One final thing, if you test positive for COVID-19 and you have attended a public worship service you are required to contact me directly.
 
Love to all,
  
Fr. Bob+
bdouglas@stmarkstampa.org
941.320.0595
 
If you are unsure whether to come to public service please feel free to call me to discuss your personal situation.
 
A Collect for Guidance
O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would direct us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.