Session resources, etc.

This page will be used from time to time to circulate information to the session of Parkwood church.

• Acts and Proceedings of the General Assembly, 1990 to the current year
• other resources from the General Assembly Office
• resources for elders
• all resources

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resources on re-opening, etc., 2020
• from Parkwood:
    Jun. 11/20 Letter re: reopening... In response to the recent announcement by the Government of Ontario that churches are permitted to open their facilities with a restriction of 30 percent of capacity, Pastor James and Dennis Featherstone, as clerk of Session have prepared a letter for Parkwood folk. Read it here.
  Summary: (1) the suspension of in-person gatherings for worship will continue, at the very least into mid-July; (2) we will continue to livestream worship at this time, and will plan to do so for an indefinite period even after we are able to re-open the building for public gatherings; (3) a safe, feasible, and well-communicated plan for future in-person gatherings is to be worked out by the session in consultation with the various ministry teams at Parkwood.
  
  • Mar. 27/21, from the FM Team: Procedures for Occupancy of Parkwood during the Covid 19 Emergency
  
  
• from the Presbytery of Ottawa:
  • Working Group on in-person gatherings, report to Presbytery, Jun.16/20 (first report)

• from the Presbyterian Church in Canada:
  • Session Resource on Re-Opening Church Buildings also available for downloading - link to pdf is at bottom of page
  • Information & Resources to Help Congregations During COVID-19 including links to provincial guidelines
  • Best Practices for Online Worship

• Ontario:
  • provincial government:  On June 8, 2020 the Premier announced that "...all places of worship in Ontario will also be permitted to open with physical distancing in place and attendance limited to no more than 30 per cent of the building capacity to ensure the safety of worshippers."
    • Workplace Health & Safety for Places of Worship during COVID-19
    • COVID-19 Advice: Religious Services, Rites or Ceremonies (Ministry of Health, updated Aug. 21/20)
    • COVID-19 response framework: keeping Ontario safe and open - the most current public health and workplace safety measures for each zone under the colour-coded response framework.
    • COVID-19 Transmission from Singing and Playing Wind Instruments -- What We Know So Far (Public Health Ontario, Nov. 18/20)
    • Singing and Playing Wind Instruments -- Environmental Scan Related to COVID-19 (Public Health Ontario, Jan 1/21)
    • (effective Apr. 17/21): enhanced public health measures and enforcement comes into effect, including limiting numbers attending religious services held indoors or outdoors to 10 persons. The declaration of emergency and province-wide Stay-at-Home order have been extended until June 2, 2021.
    • (May 20/21) Three-Step Roadmap to Safely Reopen the Province
    • (June 11/21) re-opening info: phase 1 (orange): Religious services, rites and ceremonies indoors at 15% capacity and outdoors with capacity limited to permit physical distancing of 2 metres.
    • (June 30/21) re-opening info: phase 2 (blue): Religious services, rites and ceremonies indoors at 25% capacity and outdoors with capacity limited to permit physical distancing of 2 metres (outdoor capacity limited to the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres).
    • (effective July 16/21) re-opening info: phase 3 (green) capacity indoors limited to (1) the number (of persons) that can maintain a physical distance of at least two metres from every other person in the room and (2) all persons attending must comply with public health guidance on physical distancing; outdoors, (2) is the only restriction that applies (see restrictions on religious services). Religious services, rites and ceremonies indoors at 25% capacity and outdoors with capacity limited to permit physical distancing of 2 metres (outdoor capacity limited to the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres)
    • (effective Mar. 1, 2022): (announcement on ontario.ca) (text file also available):
      If public health and health care indicators continue to improve, the following public health and workplace safety measures will come into effect on March 1, 2022.
       capacity limits lifted in all indoor public settings
       proof of vaccination requirements lifted, with businesses being allowed to implement them voluntarily
       other protective measures, such as mask/face covering requirements and active/passive screening of patrons, will be in place
       public health units can deploy local and regional responses based on local health indicators
      
• Ottawa Public Health:
  • mandating the use of masks in many indoor public spaces (effective July 7, 2020)
  • instruction to business owners and operators (webpage, continually updated)
  • COVID-19 Guidance for Places of Worship (14-dec-21, #3 under "On this page")
    3rd paragraph: "The government of Ontario now allows certain settings, including Places of Worship, to lift capacity limits and physical distancing requirements if they choose to Opt-in to requiring proof of vaccination. All other public health measures (e.g., masking and screening) continue to apply."

• article from the Church Times (UK) referencing some rigorous research from Germany re: singing (4 Jun 2020): Singing might not be so great a risk, after all

• from the Center for Disease Control (US): Considerations for Communities of Faith (upd Feb. 19/21)

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resources on livestreaming, 2020     Read more...

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resources on human sexuality, 2019, General Assembly 2021, etc.     Read more...