Many things have changed in our small town this past year, but the little Methodist church at the top of the hill in La Conner remains as committed as always to doing no harm, doing good and staying in love with God and our neighbors. At this time, we are celebrating the good news of vaccines providing a layer of protection for a significant number of members in some of our congregations.

However, the church does not belong solely to those who are vaccinated. As the church, God calls us always to do things that are beneficial because we bear responsibility towards the well-being of others, especially the most vulnerable among us. So, while we recognize that COVID-19 and variants are still present in our communities; clergy and lay leaders in our local church ministry settings are still very cautious about keeping people safe from the virus.

On May 17 there will be a shift of significant responsibility for guiding COVID-19 response from the Pacific Northwest Conference of United Methodist Church leadership to the local church leadership level. The “Safe Re-Opening” leadership team of La Conner UMC is working on a formalized plan that will allow the church to be safely re-opened for congregational worship on Sundays at 11 a.m. sometime in mid-June.

The local church leadership will follow a set of basic standard practices, developed by the United Methodist Church’s COVID-19 Response Team; however, the re-opening plan will be customized for the small congregation of La Conner UMC based upon the best practices and careful guidance offered by the CDC, public health officials and other experts.

Prior to opening mid-June for congregational worship at 11 a.m., the church will now be open beginning May 13 every Thursday from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for prayer and meditation. All are welcome in this sacred space to pray, especially on “Thankful Thursdays” to give thanks just for being alive.

May all of us in our small community have the utmost concern for one another as an act of love in response to Jesus’ command for us to love one another as he had loved us (John 13:34).

With love and grace,

Pastor Marcella Baker

La Conner United Methodist Church