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May 25, 2021

Dear Trinity Members and Friends,

Thank you for your patience with and support of the leaders of Trinity Presbyterian Church over the last 14 months as we have worked to do what love requires to try and keep members of our church and larger community safe from COVID-19.

The CDC recently released new guidance which releases those who have been vaccinated from COVID-19 from many of the public health measures that have been commonplace, specifically social distancing and wearing cloth facemasks. The Vaccination Survey we conducted revealed that our members have overwhelmingly chosen to get vaccinated. Therefore, the Session has acted to lift most of the health and safety protocols we had implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (details below). Elders and church staff will not be asking anyone to provide proof of vaccination. However, we are asking that every individual follow the CDC’s guidance. If you have not be vaccinated, we ask that you continue to wear a facemask the entire time you are in the building and to seat yourself in worship and meetings in a way that maintains 6 ft. of distance between yourself and others.

Vaccines are available to anyone 12 years of age or older. Our community has sufficient supply to allow walk-in vaccination at many locations. If you have not yet been vaccinated, we urge you to either get vaccinated. If you have questions or concerns about the vaccine, please discuss these with your physician and follow their guidance.

The Session took the following actions at its meeting on Monday, May 24:

1. Reservations for worship and pew assignments will be discontinued, effective immediately. The sanctuary has a seating capacity of approximately 200. Since resuming in person worship in November, our greatest in person attendance has been 51. There is sufficient space in the sanctuary for those who wish to maintain social distance to choose seating that allows for this.

2. Facemasks will no longer be required of everyone who attends worship. We welcome anyone who wishes to continue wearing a facemask to do so. We also request that anyone who is not yet vaccinated follow the CDC guidance and wear a facemask and choose a seat in the sanctuary that maintains social distancing.

3. Trinity Y2K serves children who are under 12 years of age and are not yet eligible to be vaccinated. Therefore, during the week when you visit the church, we continue to require facemasks be worn in the hallways. Once you have reached the location of your meeting/event we ask that the same protocols described above for worship be used.

A few changes to the ways we carry out the mission and ministry of Trinity Presbyterian Church will remain with us for the foreseeable future. We will continue to livestream the 10:30 AM worship service on Facebook Live and upload an edited version of the service to our YouTube Channel. Presbyterian Woman has agreed to pay the cost of keeping our ZOOM account for another year enabling hybrid in-person/remote meetings to continue. We will continue to use the individually wrapped communion elements.

In the months ahead other activities and practices will return. We plan to resume offering coffee fellowship following the 10:30 AM service in July. The choir will resume their role in worship leadership following their normal July break. PW Circle Meetings will resume in the fall. The Church Picnic will take place in the gym in August. The Yard Sale is on the calendar for September. The Arts and Crafts Fair is fully booked with vendors for November. The Fellowship Committee is busy planning events for the Fall and Winter months.

The Session and I look forward to seeing your smiling faces in worship this Sunday. We are excited about resuming many of the ministries, mission projects, and fellowship opportunities that were defining parts of our congregational life. We also anticipate that new energy and new ideas will continue to reinvigorate and revitalize the life of our congregation. We thank you for your prayers and your faithfulness during this most challenging season in the church’s life. Friends in Christ, see you in church!

Peace,

Anthony L. Larson, Pastor

Trinity Presbyterian Church of Surfside Beach