Over the last week, county and city governments in our ten-county health district have created ordinances limiting mass gatherings such as funerals, church services, and weddings. This has also been strongly encouraged by our state and national leaders in government and healthcare . We have recently learned that some churches are considering "drive-in" services as a way of gathering their members together while thinking that they are still adhering to the social distancing guidelines set by our local governments. While we understand the desire of local churches to gather in worship, we encourage our churches to please strictly abide by local guidelines that limit social gatherings. Many of the large outbreaks occurring across our nation and state are directly linked to places of worship and similar gatherings. As part of the state of emergency declared locally, social gatherings of 10 or more people are not allowed. This would also include a "drive-in" church scenario. Our only hope is that by practicing this and other social distancing measures set by our local government, we can safely return to our places of worship sooner rather than later.
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