The council of St. Matthew’s decided to reopen for in-person worship beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, February 27, Transfiguration of Our Lord. Preventing the spread of COVID-19 is an important part of our reopening plan. Please remember anyone who attends worship at St. Matthew’s must screen themselves for any symptoms of COVID-19, show proof of vaccination, wear a face covering and maintain a two metre distance from others. These are all temporary measures to help keep our community safe. See you in church!

Hello everyone!

We look forward to when we can safely resume worship at St. Matthew’s. On Monday, January 24 our Bishop Michael Pryse acknowledges that our shutdowns are an “act of love” and suggests a reopening plan for churches within the Eastern Synod. Part of his letter reads:

“As the regulations within our four provinces begin to lessen, with children returning to school and businesses re-opening, I would encourage you to extend the pause of in-person gatherings for an additional two weeks. This will allow time for the projected peak of the Omicron Variant, and for the public health effects of the lessening of restrictions to become better known. As such, should current trends continue, I would recommend that congregations wishing to resume in-person worship consider doing so with a February 20, 2022 target date. As always, please be sure to consult with your local public health for regulations specific to your region.”

Although St. Matthew’s aims to reopen at the target date, it’s too early to have a good sense of the future trends in the Niagara Region. We will be sure to let you know as soon as we establish a firm re-opening date. To view our bishop’s entire message please see: https://easternsynod.org/covid-19-update-january-24-2022/

While in-person worship is suspended we are working hard to provide pre-recorded worship each week. Recently you may have noticed that there are more participants from both First Lutheran and St. Matthew’s. We are learning how to create remote videos and compile them together into one worship recording. All of you are welcome to participate! We have opportunities for reading scripture or prayers. It may seem intimidating, but if you have the skills to take a photo and attach a document to an email it’s very likely that you can also create a video and upload the video. Jennifer is happy to help anyone who is willing to try! Some people are also meeting at St. Matthew’s to record their part. Please contact Pastor Bart or Jennifer at the church, if you would like to contribute to our pre-recorded worship.

Wishing you all continued health and safety,