Caring for one another with your health and safety in mind.  

This page is your connection to Wenatchee First's phased reopening plans.  The most up-to-date announcements, surveys, documents and resources will all be found here. 

May 2022 Covid Update

In the middle of April, just before Easter, I thought, “we should give another Covid update”. I wanted to help explain our current rationale and the metrics we follow to try and make informed and safe decisions for our church body. That felt fairly straightforward. (Though we have confronted the fact that the reporting agencies and links we relied upon for nearly 2 years have changed their systems and are reporting at different frequencies and with different standards. That’s meant that sometimes we are comparing apples to oranges and trying to figure out which case counts are the most reliable). Then, the following week, a Florida judge overruled the mask mandates on transit systems and we received renewed guidance from the CDC. 

Each time these major shifts happen, we as a church look at what we need to do as a result. On one hand, that could seem fairly simple. On the other, it’s frustratingly complicated. Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve seen a vast disparity in how public health decisions are handled. Some deal with pragmatics, some with economics, some with politics, and some with public health. As a church (and as an annual conference), we have sought to prioritize 3 values, 1) Do no harm, 2) Love your neighbor, 3) Stay in love with God.

We have made profound sacrifices as we waited for vaccines to be widely available, and have continued to do so because we know that our church is more than one group or generation of people. We still have many who are immunocompromised and most at risk with this virus, and we have others who are too young for a vaccine. Some of your kids and grandkids, and great-grandkids are under 5 and still waiting for vaccine eligibility. And while we have seen that Covid-19 affects children to a much lesser degree, sometimes it is still severe, and none of us know the long-term effects of even mild cases. We want to honor each life among us. We know we have families who worship among us because we do continue to protect and honor their kids at this stage of the pandemic.

As a church, we have truly wrestled with doing right by each group in our community. I know many among us are ready for us to lift the mask requirement while singing. I know I miss the full and robust sound of the congregation singing their praises (sans masks). And yet, what we’ve already begun to see is that our local numbers are rising with the Omicron b.a.2 variant. On one level, it’s not dramatic yet (still “low” by Covid standards) and yet, the case count doubled just last week, and what we saw with the original Omicron variant is that once it spreads, it moves quickly. We’ve also seen that cases are more mild (as nearly 45% of the population was infected in the winter surge) with a shorter overall infection/transmission period (compared to the 8-week norm we’ve seen with other variants). As a result, we will continue to ask you to mask while we sing. We are hopeful we can continue to worship safely, engage in small groups, and even stretch to do some new fun things this month. And we commit to continued monitoring and will shift as we can appropriately and safely do so.

I believe we are nearing the end of this pandemic, and I believe we won’t know for certain until we can see the data in retrospect. We continue to see that booster shots make a marked difference in how sick people become. If you haven't already, please get boosted. If you are eligible for the second booster, we encourage you to get that too. If you are infected, and learn by using a home test, please report your results to the local health department (this helps ensure more accurate data for all), and please contact your doctor to ask about medicines to help you fight the virus. The medical progress made over the last 2 years is amazing and should definitely be used to help your health. If you have questions about our methodology, planning, or reasoning, please feel free to reach out.

Rev. Debbie Sperry

Reopening and resuming in-person worship for local churches and ministries of the Greater NW Area will occur in a four-phased process.  Three conditions must be met before advancing from one reopening phase to the next:

1. Bishop Stanovsky ends or relaxes suspension of in-person worship and building closures, allowing movement to the next phase. 

2. State and local public health guidance permits intended activities in the next phase. 

3. A local church or organization reopening plan has been approved for implementation by our District Superintendent working under the authority of the Bishop.

What Wenatchee First is doing in reopening phase 2

While Wenatchee First will continue to closely monitor the statements of public health officials, we may not move into stages as quickly as permitted. We understand that this may create some tension, as many of you are eager to return to our building. Please know that we review our posture and plan regularly, guided by John Wesley’s Three Simple Rules: Do No Harm. Do Good. Stay in Love With God.

What you can expect in Phase 2:

• Strict social distancing guidelines with limits of gathering sizes of 5 or less, and "at risk" are to "stay home, and stay healthy".

• Church Leadership has developed an individual phased reopening plan.

• Staff and volunteers work from home with exceptions made for essential functions.  When staff is in office, strict safety guidelines will be followed, including:

  • Required face masks for all when in the building

  • Hand washing or sanitizer used consistently

  • Sanitize work areas after every use

• Worship and ministry activities limited to virtual services only

  • Groups of 10 or less permitted to gather for worship recording

  • Building use is closed to all outside groups

Read more about Phase 1, and following phases in the Greater Northwest Conference reopening guidelines, page 5-8, found HERE.

what you can do to help

Wenatchee First, as well as other churches and businesses in our valley, need your help.  In order to begin reopening, we must reduce the spread of COVID-19.  According to our local health experts, the next best thing to a vaccine is following these basic procedures:

More Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines can be found HERE.

CDC Guidelines on what to do if you are sick can be found HERE.

Chelan Douglas Health District Coronavirus Resource Center can be found HERE.

Chelan Douglas Health District "Better Together" YouTube Updates can be found HERE.

Washington State Department of Health Website Resources can he found HERE.