St. Paul’s UMC of West Deptford is well known for loving all of our neighbors and of welcoming anyone who comes to worship with us with complete love!
It is out of love and because of ever increasing COVID numbers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, especially in Gloucester County where we are located, that we are reinstituting a policy of requiring that every individual who worships with us in person MUST WEAR A FACE MASK that fully covers their nose and mouth effective immediately! We will also be leaving every other pew open as a means of socially distancing during our worship services. This is a decision made by the Reopening Team.
We will continue to stream all of our worship services, including our Sunday worship services at 9:30 a.m., this Saturday’s New Years’ service at noon, and our weekly services of Holy Communion on Wednesday mornings at 7 a.m.
We are aware that masking is currently the best protection to prevent the spreading of COVID from one person to another. Many individuals with COVID are asymptomatic. but they can easily spread the virus if they do not wear a mask. This could be devastating to the elderly or to those with health challenges. Our church family and our church guests include many individuals who are elderly or who are immune compromised, so masking is an easy preventative action.
We are hoping that the numbers go back down and that this is a temporary measure but we know that people who follow Jesus Christ put loving their neighbors as a priority over any minor discomfort a mask might cause.
Pastor Dave