Saint Paul’s Closing Temporarily for in-person worship and Open Door
Morning Prayer will be available on YouTube.
Mass will be offered on Zoom this Sunday at 11, followed by Zoom Coffee Hour 

Dear Friends in Christ:

The steadily rising rate of Covid-19 infections in New York City coupled with many people traveling for Thanksgiving is of grave concern to state and city officials, as well as medical professionals and church leaders. Bearing these things in mind, Saint Paul’s will once again be closed for public worship and Open Door for at least the next four Sundays (we will reassess and reevaluate in the coming weeks). It has been so wonderful to gather together for Mass in the precious few weeks since mid-October. This closure is necessary, however — and it is better to be overly cautious than negligent and regretful. We must do our part in the effort to help mitigate rising rates of infection and help lower the risk to parishioners, visitors, and the neighborhood.

Advent begins this coming Sunday — and Advent always begins in the dark. The Light of Christ is coming towards us, but Advent always begins in the dark. It is a season of waiting and longing for the Light of Christ. It is a time to watch and pray. Advent is a call to repentance and self-denial in preparation for the joy that is to come. (In 2020 it feels like Advent began in March!). This Advent, we will put aside the joy of coming together for public worship as a sacrifice for the greater good of our parish and our city.

This time, our transition away from public worship to our online offerings will be much easier. We have high-quality equipment and better technological resources. On Sunday morning, the e-blast will contain a link for Morning Prayer with sermon and a hymn (like every Sunday since the lockdown in March), which can be watched at any time. A Zoom link will also be sent. For those who wish to join additionally or alternatively to Morning Prayer, I will celebrate Mass from the Lady Chapel on Zoom at 11 am. We will ask that everyone mute themselves unless otherwise invited. Coffee Hour will follow at 12 noon. Everyone is invited to participate in any or all of the above.

Please pray for Saint Paul’s. Pray too for our elected officials, for hospitals, doctors, nurses, other medical professionals, researchers, first responders and all essential workers.

As we prepare, in modified ways, to celebrate our national Thanksgiving, I hope this year, more than ever, we can all readily identify the people, places, and things for which we are grateful, especially in the midst of a pandemic. I know I am truly thankful to God for each and every one of you and for your deep and abiding love for God and one another. Happy Thanksgiving!

Faithfully,
Fr William Ogburn+
Rector