Update on Regathering at St. John's

July 2020

A letter to the St. John’s community regarding re-gathering:

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

Many of us have come to love our virtual online church experience at St. John’s. At the same time, members of our community have begun to ask “When?” we might be able to return to in-person worship at St. John’s. The following letter seeks to provide guidance on this subject.

A Regathering Task Force (RTF) has been assembled from clergy, staff, vestry, and individual volunteer members of the community and has been working hard to plan for our regathering. The RTF would like to provide an update to the community as of July 2020.

As the city of Portsmouth, state of New Hampshire, and all of the United States continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the community of St. John’s has pulled together in a way that is both encouraging and gratifying. Currently, it would be difficult to both safely and inclusively worship in our buildings. The safety of our community will always guide our decisions, and the RTF is hard at work evaluating when it may be possible to worship inside of St. John’s again.

This RTF is guided by several important sources, including:

  1. Data about the ongoing spread of the virus and its impact on the healthcare system, both locally and regionally.

  2. The physical layout of our church and Thaxter Hall, to determine if there may be physical alterations required or recommended to help us worship safely.

  3. Adapting the diocesan Guiding Principles (now on version ‘3.0’) from the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire for our local setting.

While there may be some churches that have begun to regather in July, those parishes have determined that it is safe to do so in their own environment, which may include outdoor space, small numbers of parishioners, or other specific factors. At St. John’s, we recognize that we are a large church where services are typically well attended. We have a wide range of ages across our community, many of whom may be considered at higher risk than others. Further, our church does not have significant outdoor space, nor do we have spacious means of entering and exiting our buildings.

We have always taken pride in our message that “all are welcome”, and the restrictions that would accompany a safe regathering plan are, by definition, limiting. Limiting the number of attendees at a service is another way of saying that we will need to turn people away.

We also recognize that a return to the church may provide an experience unlike any other in our history, and not necessarily a desirable one:

  • Physical distancing and limited number of available pews

  • Masks

  • No singing, exchanging a sign of peace, or communion

  • No Sunday School or childcare

  • No coffee hour, or even casual gathering inside the church at the end of the service

  • Potentially requiring reservations to control the size of the gathering, and the risk that parishioners might be excluded as a result

The staff and Clergy have provided an amazing online virtual church experience for St. John’s since March. It has allowed us to stay connected through the Daily Reflections, multiple services available online each week, and as much outreach as possible to help everyone stay in touch. These offerings will continue.

With the understanding that the RTF has more work to do, and that the data currently does not support regathering safely and inclusively, St. John’s will not regather until at least the fall, and possibly later. Some have asked about our traditional Kickoff Sunday, or Labor Day, or other key dates in September. Given the enormous pressure on businesses and schools to open in September, and the unlikely material change in the health data over the next 6 weeks, the RTF has chosen to avoid adding to that pressure/stress by announcing a specific date. While the uncertainty may be disconcerting to some, the reality is that we just don’t know when we’ll be able to accommodate in-person worship at this time. We will provide updates periodically until we have more clarity on when we can regather and what it will look like.

In the meantime, we encourage all members of our community to stay connected, enjoy the glorious summer season on the seacoast, and LOVE your friends, family, neighbors and all others in the community.

The RTF welcomes your responses. Please send any feedback you’d like to share with the Regathering Task Force to administrator@stjohnsnh.org or by mail to the church office (100 Chapel St. Portsmouth, NH 03801).

Faithfully in your service,

The Regathering Task Force

Rob Stevens, Rector

Nathan Bourne, Associate Rector

Nicole Benevenia, volunteer

Jeff Croteau, Vestry

Gerry Simpkins, Junior Warden

Bertha Rocray, volunteer

Rebecca Hennessey, Staff