Dear friends,
I have some good news to report. Yesterday the CDC issued new guidelines on masks, which say that masks are not required indoors in low risk areas. A chart on the CDC website lists the risks for each county in the country. We are in a low risk area.
With that news masks are now optional at St. Dunstan’s for those who are fully vaccinated. Some of you may be more comfortable wearing masks, and that’s fine. For those who are not vaccinated masks are required (and go get the vaccine!). And of course, if you have any symptoms of Covid (or any other illness), please stay home and join us for worship online.
Remember that tomorrow we are resuming our tradition of a pancake brunch on the last Sunday of Epiphany, the last Sunday before Lent begins. Plan to join the festivities after church tomorrow.
One other end-of-Epiphany tradition is to burn palms left over from last year’s Palm Sunday to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday. If you have palm fronds or crosses at home, bring them tomorrow to place in the fire. We’ll be doing this in the Beech Grove after brunch.
Those ashes will reappear on Wednesday, March 2, the first day of Lent. Our Ash Wednesday services will be at noon and 7 p.m. After last year of mailing little packets of ashes to everyone along with a “do it yourself” service, it will be a pleasure to have this service in person this year!
We will have a big change the first Sunday in Lent, March 6. We’ll be returning to our pre-pandemic schedule. That means two services on Sunday mornings — at 8:30 and 10:45. And adult Sunday School will be back — from 9:30-10:30. We’ll be starting with a discussion of what life has been like the last two years. Here’s the description:
LEAVING HOME: COMING BACK
Pandemics and Parishes
1. What has it been like to leave?
2. What has it been like to come back?
3. What has been lost? What has been regained?
The service bulletin for tomorrow is attached. Hope to see in person or online.