COVID-19 Information
This page was designed to communicate St. Mary’s updates regarding how COVID-19 impacts our community, worship, and ministries. For updates and medical information regarding the virus, please visit
Center for Disease Control
World Health Organization
Oregon Health Authority
At St. Mary’s we continue to mask up, maintain distance, and keep an eye on ventilation when we gather in groups. We have reduced the length of time we gather in person and keep group numbers limited. Our online offerings remain robust. If you’d like read more detailed updates, scroll past the videos to see the updates.
Love Your Neighbor! Get Vaccinated!
In the Episcopal Church our understanding of God is informed by scripture, tradition, and reason. During these difficult times of COVID-19, we look to the bible, to past wisdom, and to the power of reason, insight, and science. We take heart that the vast majority of our St. Mary’s parishioners who can be vaccinated are. Perhaps you have family and friends who are still not vaccinated. We know this question has become a contentious one in our society today, so we’ve asked several St. Mary’s healthcare professionals to share their insights. We hope these videos and resources will help the wider community to make an informed decision.
Vaccination remains the safest and most effective way for all people in Oregon to get back to doing the things they love. Visit OHA’s Find a COVID-19 Vaccine in Oregon webpage to schedule your vaccine appointment today.
August 2021 Update: At St. Mary’s, we act out of love for our neighbor, especially the most vulnerable among us. As cases of COVID-19 surge in Lane County, public health officials are warning us of the dire situation. The danger is not only related to COVID, but a strained medical system cannot help us as effectively with other medical issues as well. We have reduced our already limited in-person gatherings and further tightened our safety protocols for remaining gatherings. Our online ministry remains the primary way that we gather as a community. We have cancelled our office hours; staff remain available via email and voicemail. Our few remaining in-person Eucharists have been shortened. Physical distancing is back in effect at all services, singing has been suspended, and all participants, including readers, preachers, and celebrants wear masks for the entire service.
Update as of July 31, 2021: This announcement explains why we have gone back to wearing masks at all times in our building.
Update as of June 12, 2021: Please read this letter from our rector, the Rev. Bingham Powell, to the parish on our summer plans.
In-Person Worship Update (posted March 9, 2021): We will be begin offering an in-person Eucharist option on Sunday, March 14. Details for registering can be found here on our In Person Registration page. Know that we will continue to follow the recommendations of masking, physical distancing, keeping our gatherings small and short in length, and optimizing airflow.
In-Person Worship Update (posted February 6, 2021): Although, we are not quite ready to start offering regular weekly in-person services, we will be offering an in-person Eucharist for Ash Wednesday. We are monitoring the situation closely and hope to offer regular, weekly in-person services soon. Please keep your eye on your weekly e-mails for when those will return
Vestry statement about in-person worship: (posted December 15, 2020)
In mid-summer, St. Mary’s started offering limited weekly in-person worship. For all these services, the Vestry required an abundance and redundance of caution, not only following all the requirements but often doubling up on public health recommendations.
In mid-November, St. Mary’s suspended in-person worship in conjunction with the governor’s two-week state-wide freeze. That freeze has now ended and the governor has released a new model for counties to follow. Legally, we could resume our services, but Lane Country is in the extreme risk category under this new model. We remember the wisdom of St. Paul: “All things may be lawful but not all things are beneficial,” which is to say, just because we can doesn’t mean we should. The governor is weighing many factors and not just public health concerns. With Lane County in the extreme risk category and case numbers continuing to rise, we think it is prudent to hold off a little while longer with in-person services.
We can’t give you an exact date or metric for when our services will resume, but they will. We recognize the spiritual and emotional importance of offering in-person services and especially the Holy Eucharist. During this pandemic, we face an ever-shifting, ever-evolving balancing act of physical safety and spiritual need. As we have for the past nine months, St. Mary’s will continue to be flexible and to adapt. We are monitoring the situation carefully. This is particularly hard at this time with the holidays, and yet, public health officials remind us that this is the time to be the most careful. Jesus taught us to love our neighbor and the best way for us to do that right now is to stay home as much as we can. We look forward to seeing you on zoom and in the video services and soon when we will gather together in-person again.
Update on In-Person Gathering: (Posted August 30, 2020) While we continue to make our online offerings the core of our ministry during the Covid-19 pandemic, there are a few things that cannot be accomplished online. We have worked diligently to create a safe environment to offer some limited in-person options. This situation remains fluid. As new information is made available we will continue to assess what we can offer in-person. You can learn more about our in-person gatherings on this new page of our website.
When we have updates, we will post them here and reference this page in our eNewsletter.
Below you will find links to our first email communications about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Link to March 17 Update from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church email
Link to March 14 Special Email about Sunday Services for March 15
Link to March 13 Special COVID19 Update in our Weekly News
Want to stay up-to-date on St. Mary’s communication? Scroll down and sign up for our weekly eNewsletter.
