Updated May 5, 2021
See our guidelines for worship music by clicking the link below right.
Guidance updates from the COVID Response Team (formerly the Re-Entry Team)
Find a recording and additional resources from this webinar
Read the team's update on Omicron
Read the team's information on singing and more
Read the team's update with information on healthy ventilation and more
Read the team's response with info on resurgence of the virus and ministry with youth 12 and younger
Re-Entry Team update - May 10, 2021
Watch a video recording of the May 10 webinar and get materials
April 27, 2021
CDC issues new guidelines for fully vaccinated people outdoors
The New England Conference Re-Entry Team has been receiving many questions about whether the increased distribution of a vaccine and the decline in infection rates in some areas mean churches should consider returning to in-person worship. While the team does not make decisions for your church about whether to hold events or gather for worship, we do provide information and resources to aid in your discernment.
We also recommend this video interview about COVID vaccines
June 26, 2020 — Order re-opening supplies from Home Depot and benefit UMCOR
Any church/affiliate or leadership member that orders cleaning and other re-opening supplies from Home Depot Pro can get the supplies delivered to the church and make a donation to UMCOR at the same time.
This an expansion of a program Home Depot has offered since 2018. Churches/leaders that register a credit card to purchase supplies for the church can designate UMCOR to receive a percentage of those purchases as a donation.
Home Depot advises that churches can get a better price on some items when they are purchased in bulk (for example, Bioesque disinfectant solution). NOTE: Churches that want to go in together with other churches or UMC organizations on bulk purchases will have to register a single credit card and designate a single delivery location for those purchases.
This program is not meant to replace any purchases from local vendors that churches wish to support in their communities. It is simply another resource for hard-to-get items.
Churches that purchase specified supplies for other church needs – such as repair or disaster response projects – also receive up to a 20% discount on supplies such as paints, stains and primer.
See a flyer from Home Depot about this program
June 18, 2020: The Ecumenical Consultation on Protocols for Worship, Fellowship, and Sacraments put together by the Candler School of Theology at Emory University offers some. Click the image for a PDF.
Erin Bromage, comparative immunologist and professor of biology (specializing in immunology) at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, shared a COVID-19 blog post titled “The Risks — Know Them — Avoid Them” that’s received attention across the nation. “So throughout most of the country we are going to add fuel to the viral fire by reopening. It's going to happen if I like it or not, so my goal here is to try to guide you away from situations of high risk,” Bromage writes. Read more
Hear a message about reopening from the NEAC Cabinet
Click the link to watch a recording from a May 13, 2020 webinar “Road to Reopening The UMC” hosted by The Woodlands (TX) UMC. The hour-long panel discussion covered a wide variety of topics around re-starting in-person worship.