Greetings to all within our

Heidelberg-Erbsville family

Peace and blessings to all the members of St. Peters Lutheran Church, Heidelberg.

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Many within our two congregations are no doubt aware that communities lying outside the GTA have now been given the “green light” to move into Phase II of the post-Covid recovery. This means that the province is now allowing the partial re-opening of churches. Congregations may gather at a level that does not exceed the 30% capacity of their respective sanctuaries. This is good news!

This past Tuesday, both of our Church Councils received a directive from the Office of the Bishop regarding the opening of our Lutheran churches. The gist of the letter is that the Eastern Canada Synod, in conjunction with Anglican House of Bishops, has decided to extend the current prohibition to worship in-person until the beginning of September. We quote the words from the Bishop's office:

"As such, it is my (that is, Bishop Michael Pryse's) strong recommendation that our synod's congregations not contemplate initiating in-person worship experiences within our church buildings until the beginning of September at the earliest."

As member parishes of the Eastern Canada Synod family, it is necessary for us to comply with this directive on this sensitive issue. The Bishop's office is showing extreme caution and indeed, this is prudent, given the unique challenges that are posed by this contagion. Yes, while many have expressed hopes that the post-Covid  restart could have occurred earlier, we need to embrace the Synod's example of caution.  As a result, all Lutheran and Anglican churches will continue to remain closed until September. Sunday worship will continue to be offered through our now-familiar digital means.

Yes, these are unfortunate times, but with fervent prayer and much Spirit-filled forbearance, I have little doubt that we shall experience a successful return to full congregational activity.

Blessings, Pastor Olaf J. Poulsen.

SERVICES

We are extremely blessed to bring our services to you virtually. This wouldn't be possible without the help of Pastor Olaf, organist Dan Amorim and assistant Eryn Lobsinger. We thank them for the time and dedication put forward to produce these services for our church and its members.