March 17, 2020
Dear Conference Family, We are living in an unprecedented time, and as Christ followers, we have new opportunities to consider how to care for those around you in your church and in your community. The landscape has changed so rapidly and continues to, daily. Yesterday, there was a teleconference for members of the faith community with Dr. Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer for the state of Alaska. Here is a summary of the information that she shared. Please feel free to share this with your local church or ministry leadership. Key points • •
• • •
These measures and efforts are aimed to flatten the curve for the sake of not overwhelming the capacity of health care system. There is potential to overrun our hospitals if we do not respond with urgency. This is critical to understand. As the faith community, we were encouraged to lead the way in modeling and demonstrating care for one another, especially the most vulnerable in our communities. The elderly, those with preexisting health conditions, as well as those being impacted from the economic realities, those who suffer from domestic violence. Let us be attentive and respond with the compassion of Christ. We need to help people understand their behavior matters and we have a platform to do this. We need to take this seriously. Things change rapidly, so regularly monitor information that is provided through the state of Alaska and CDC. (see below) The medical community is concerned. They know they have to go to work every day and are susceptible to the virus. Do you have medical care givers in your community? Be mindful to give them care as they serve.
Recommendations • •
•
Dr. Zink said that if she were leading a congregation, she would move toward services being online or some kind of digital platform. With what she knows now, her best estimation for how long this could last is three months. During the call, she received a text with the information that the CDC recommendation on limiting group sizes went from 50 to 10 today. She emphasized there is not some magic number, but this measure is being put into place to limit individuals contacting individuals, to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. My recommendation is that each local congregation follow the guidelines the state is providing. This is the loving, compassionate thing to do as a good neighbor in our communities.
ALASKA CONFERENCE P.O. BOX 200446 ANCHORAGE, AK CURTIS@ALASKACOVENANT.ORG PHONE: 907-222-6348 FAX: 907-222-6390
99520 WWW.ALASKACOVENANT.ORG