Deans' Note July 25, 2021

Dear St. John's Cathedral community,

As we all know, cases of Covid-19, particularly the Delta variant, continue to rise in Los Angeles County primarily among the unvaccinated population. Vaccination still is our best and most effective tool against this virus. Nevertheless, there are a few crossover cases that may result in symptoms even among the vaccinated, although these cases are almost always far less severe. Children under 12 who cannot be vaccinated are also vulnerable to exposure if they come in contact with an unvaccinated person who is positive for the virus. As we said in the Deans' note last week, Vaccination is an expression of our baptismal covenant in which we vow to love our neighbors as ourselves.

In response, beginning this Sunday, we are developing a vaccination registry for people attending the in-person 9:00 am service and/or the 10:30 Christian Education hour. We ask that you either send electronic verification of your vaccination to the church office, or bring your vaccination card with you. You will need to do this only one time and then your name will be on the registry. We will announce this policy at the service this Sunday as well.

We believe this policy will help to ensure that St. John's is a safe space for everyone physically attending. We especially hope parents of small children and those who are elderly will be more comfortable attending services. Our policy of wearing masks during indoor services still remains in effect. Of course we continue to be committed to live streaming all our services and education events so that our community reach continues to include both those physically and digitally present.

Blessings in Christ,

Fr. Mark and Fr. Dan