Hello OSC family.
I want to share with you what precautions we are taking at The Oceanside Sanctuary in response to the spread of Coronavirus.
First, most people who contract Coronavirus suffer relatively mild symptoms that resemble the flu. The most common symptoms are a high fever and a dry cough.
However, for some people the affects can be more severe, and for specific groups of people, Coronavirus is very dangerous – much more dangerous, in fact, than the flu. Specifically, if you are a senior, or if you are immunosuppressed, or if you suffer from heart disease, diabetes, or respiratory illness, Coronavirus can be a very serious and even life-threatening illness. For that reason, it’s critically important that we all take precautions to slow down and stop the spread of this outbreak.
Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom instituted a ban on all gathering of 250 people or more. With the exception of Sunday morning, we have decided to cancel all large group gatherings until the outbreak has passed. Since our Sunday gatherings are less than 100 people, and since most of our congregation is younger, we have decided – for now – to continue the Sunday gathering. We will be reassessing that decision on a week-by-week basis.
In the meantime, here are 5 precautions we are taking for our Sunday Gathering:
First, we are asking everyone who is sick in any way, immunosuppressed, or suffering from heart disease, diabetes, or respiratory illness, to remain home at home.
Second, if you are a senior and you are healthy, please know that you are welcome to come to church. However, please also know that you face a much higher risk, so we support your decision to remain at home if that’s what you choose.
Third, we ask that everyone who comes to church practice keeping a distance of 6 feet. Let’s all get into the habit of greeting each other with a smile and a kind word instead of a hug or a handshake.
Fourth, we ask that you practice diligent hand-washing while you are here and every time you come into contact with another person or whenever you touch a common surface.
Lastly, until this outbreak passes, we are switching to pre-packaged communion cups.
For those of you who remain at home, this Sunday we are going to begin live-stream of our Sunday gatherings. Stay tuned for those details. You can also subscribe to our weekly podcast right from the podcasting app on your phone, or by going to www.oceansidesanctuary.org and clicking the “podcast” link at the top of the page.
I want to end by encouraging you to have faith during this challenging time. Too often, for some people – and even for some churches – having “faith” means blindly ignoring what is factually true, especially when the truth is uncomfortable or inconvenient, or challenges our beliefs.
That is not the kind of faith we practice at The Oceanside Sanctuary.
For us, having faith means being faithful in our commitment to love like Christ. In this situation, we can do that by embracing the precautions that will protect the most vulnerable members of our community and by having the courage to find creative new ways to connect during this challenging season. Finding ways to do that is my commitment to you as the Pastor.
If you have any questions at all, please email us directly at info@oceansidesanctuary.org.
Thanks for helping us do our part to put a stop to this outbreak as quickly as possible.
Blessings to you all,
Rev. Jason Coker
Lead Pastor