Greetings brethren,

This morning, the difficult decision was made to pause our in-person gathering for the next two days, Saturday, September 25th, and Sunday, September 26th as a result of 2 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and several individuals who are symptomatic, but not yet confirmed (presumptive). There are also a number of exposures which currently are asymptomatic. Another presumptive case was revealed this morning - with multiple exposures, and potential for additional presumptive cases. 

We are hoping that this two-day pause will serve as a 'firebreak' of sorts to allow time for any symptoms that are present to develop, enabling a more effective quarantine of those who are currently asymptomatic, but will develop symptoms. We understand that this is challenging, and disrupts your Festival plans to some degree. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work through this. 

Please keep in mind - there are a great number of those gathered here who have not been exposed, and we have endeavored to notify all of those personally who have been directly impacted. For those who have not been notified, if you do choose to gather, please do so with care and consideration - outdoor gatherings are recommended and according to CDC generally safe, and if you do gather indoors - please consider wearing a mask.

Please continue to notify us of any symptoms which begin to occur in this interim period so we can continue to contact trace, and keep track of the situation. Please call (503) 949-2504 to let us know if there is any change in your health. We fully intend to return to in-person services on Monday, and request that if you attend in person that you are symptom-free (no cough, runny nose, shortness of breath, nausea, diarrhea, fever, loss of taste or smell, body aches), and are wearing your mask appropriately.

Some have asked about quarantine if they have been exposed - the CDC defines exposure as 15 cumulative minutes in 'close contact' with someone in a 24 hour period. If you have come into contact with someone who is positive in this fashion, the recommendation is a minimum of 10 days quarantine to see if symptoms develop before going back into public settings. If the person who has been exposed is vaccinated, the CDC recommendation is to quarantine only if they are experiencing symptoms, and CDC recommends they wear a mask indoors for 10 days if they are going to be around people that are not in their immediate household.

We will continue to provide a webcast and phone hookup out of Bend-Redmond - you can access the webcast at https://www.ucg.org/members/feast/sites/2021/bend-redmond-oregon/webcast and can access the telephone hookup at 732-434-3223. The toll-free option (please only use in the event you CANNOT use the other number) is 1-844-844-0414, with an access code of 252433#.

Thank you for your understanding, and look forward to seeing you on Monday. 

With love,
Ben