Bishops of the Diocese of North Carolina Urge Ongoing COVID-19 Vigilance During Holidays

We have entered Advent 2020 a chastened people. The traumatic events of this waning year have laid bare our vulnerabilities and heightened our sense of urgency to answer the call to become the beloved community of God.

Among our most immediate imperatives is to unite in the urgent work to stem the tide of COVID-19. While we are hopeful that a vaccine will be available to most by spring, we also heed the warning of scientists and public health experts that the coming months will be hard. Brutal losses may be compounded. We must remember it is within our collective power to stem the tide of this pernicious and persistent virus.

The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina remains committed to the well-being of all our parishioners and to all God’s children. We will continue to offer guidance and, as necessary, restrictions on in-person worship, indoors and outdoors. We have missed our time to gather in person. We appreciate the toll of separation from physical fellowship and limitations to receiving the sacraments. We also know that many aspects of being together in houses of worship could serve to spread the virus exponentially. We are grateful for the solidarity we feel from other faith communities with similar restrictions for in-person gatherings in the name of loving our neighbors. We humbly pray other faith leaders will also consider such limits for the sake of protecting our most fragile neighbors and most vulnerable communities.

Scientists are warning that the continued increase in case numbers holds the potential to make the virus even more dangerous. We must do all we can now to stop its spread, even as we lose more people to COVID daily than those who died in the 9/11 terror attack. We have surpassed 300,000 deaths to this pandemic and more who are navigating lasting health concerns. We recognize our responsibility to love our neighbors by observing the practices known as mask/wash/distance.

When isolating is not possible, masks, distancing and hand washing are crucial and effective. Months into this, some of us have grown lax in these practices. But the dire warnings continue from those who know how viruses take advantage when we let our guard down. Small practices that may seem inconvenient can save lives. May we view them as rituals of care for one another and recommit to them with intentionality.

We are mindful that the holidays are typically a time of heightened communion and celebration, both in our churches and in our homes. As with Thanksgiving, we ask you to consider carefully and conservatively your Christmas and New Year's plans. Simple math tells us we increase the danger for everyone when we multiply the opportunities for the virus to spread. Our health care systems are at risk of being overwhelmed, and the burden on our first responders and essential workers, who have been sacrificial in their care of all of us, grows unsustainable.

We recognize the pandemic will continue to have deep and lasting economic impact. We call on leaders at the local, state and federal level to act with urgency and to frame their decision-making and policies around relief and support for our communities as they struggle to recover. Investment is desperately needed in our small businesses, farms and childcare facilities. Families with young children and our schools, which have had to balance so much, also deserve additional consideration. There is a critical need to provide relief for racially subordinated communities who have suffered the most from the COVID outbreak, both in terms of illness and death, as well as its economic impact.

We, as a diocese, will do all we can to encourage a prompt, equitable distribution of vaccines. We will encourage public health officials to be particularly sensitive toward people and communities that harbor distrust of the vaccine based upon injustices of the past and ongoing disparities. We celebrate the hope vaccines present for a time when we can gather in person again. We give thanks for the medical professionals and scientists who have worked tirelessly and whose efforts continue even at great personal risk and cost.

We mourn what Advent and Christmas 2020 cannot be this year. There are so many levels of loss, from human lives to anticipated reunions to economic security. At the same time, perhaps we will realize a more authentic Advent season of stillness, expectation and placing all our hopes and fears in God’s almighty hands. We are being forced to slow down and step away from the busyness that sometimes distracts us from the quiet holiness we have often longed for. We pray for you to take this time to center your focus on the presence of Jesus, the miracle in the manger and the hope born into the world. May this Christmas bring us all a fresh sense of wonder, love and praise for our newborn King.