Public Worship Resumes on Sunday, July 19
July 13, 2020
A Special Message from the Dean
The past four months have been unlike any other time in the past century, as we faced the challenges of a pandemic that swept the world. During this time, our beloved St. James Cathedral building has been closed but not the church! You are the church, and through online worship services, Sunday school classes, small groups, forums, meetings, music lessons, virtual coffee hours, plaza Meals Ministry and planning for Summer in the City, have continued without pause, although in different forms. God has been working through us despite the physical distance between us.
Now it is time to return slowly and carefully to in-person worship. As you know, the State of Illinois and City of Chicago are in Phase IV of a cautious and wisely administered re-opening. Alongside this, the Diocese of Chicago has created guidelines for the resumption of live worship. Our plan is to resume a celebration of the Eucharist this coming Sunday, July 19 at 11:00 a.m.
After a very considerable amount of detailed and careful work by the Cathedral Chapter, ministry leaders and staff, I believe it is both safe and appropriate for us to take this step. For now, we will hold just one service each Sunday at 11 a.m. Provided the pandemic does
not deteriorate, I hope that we will be able to move towards two and then three services in the coming weeks, but this is something we will review later in the summer.
We have taken every precaution for your safety. The building has been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Seating will be properly distanced and limited to 50 people, and a reservation will be required. There will be glorious music from the organ and virtual (recorded) music by the choir, but no live singing.
The Eucharist will be offered in one kind only (the bread). You may or may not feel that the time has come for you to rejoin us in person on Sunday mornings, and for now, our podcast Sunday service will continue to be offered alongside our live worship. But whether or not you choose to join us on Sunday, I hope you will give thanks that we are able to take this significant step, and that you will continue to share my prayers for an easing of the pandemic and the suffering it has brought to so many people.
Interested in attending Sunday's Eucharist? Read more about the Public Worship Health and Safety Protocols.