As the vaccination rate is increasing in the United state, the government and state policy is also changing. Last week, the CDC announced that those who are fully vaccinated are no longer required to wear masks indoors and outdoors. At this point in time, Hanmaum church also needs to reconsider its policy for covid..
First, we are surveying the vaccination rate among our church members. As far as I know, most of our church members above the age of 16 will meet their two-week anniversary of full vaccination by the end of May. Additionally, starting last week, children above the age of 12 became eligible for vaccination; most of them should also have immunity by the middle of June. Therefore, our church won’t seek immediate change for our current covid policy now. Instead, we will just continue to listen to opinions and ideas from the congregation, do more research, and contemplate until the end of May.
I understand that you have been patient and want to get rid of your masks now. However, at least for church gatherings, we request for your continued patience. Our church is planning to be more cautious, and attempt to make changes step by step. Upon the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, our church was one step ahead of the government and state in the prevention effort. Furthermore, we also did our diligence to go beyond what the government and state required. This time however, we will go one step slower. We will update our church policy and announce the progress accordingly. We ask that you will, with your generous heart, follow our directions, policies, etc.
I understand that there will be a lot of opinions on the church’s covid policy. Please feel free to share with me. I hope to gather and discuss your input by the end of May.
pastor, JiWon Choi