The world is upside down. And as we know with Covid, the world is unpredictable. So let me not bury the lead; we are delaying our reopening. Our Covid Response team and Dallas County Officials have asked us to delay large group gatherings for a month. So we are going to plan to reopen the sanctuary in September with an update to you on the 7th.

As of the 5th of August the rise in Delta Variant Covid has put our local hospitals in what one advisor called “disaster mode.” While we expect most of our church members are vaccinated and we know most congregations in Dallas are open for worship, we want to be responsible and we will always follow the science. We are keenly aware that hundreds of our children under 12 have no way of being vaccinated and it is our responsibility not to put them in danger.

I have looked forward to seeing you in worship for months and a few weeks ago I would have bet my salary that we would be worshiping together this week but the Delta Variant moved against us and we are retreating. We will monitor the surge in cases and report back to you soon. In the meantime we all have to take this opportunity to get vaccinated, encourage friends and family to vaccinate, mask in public, stay healthy and continue support for our healthcare workers and institutions providing care for the sick.

Your support of our church and this decision is also essential to our future. I thank you for your patience and understanding in advance and I look forward to seeing you when it is safe to do so.