Welcome back to in-person church – new COVID-safe requirements
We are delighted that Coburg Uniting Church will re-open for in-person services on Sunday 7 November. There is important information in the linked attachment from Church Council. Please do read it carefully so that re-opening the church is a safe and happy occasion.
To attend in person, you will need to be fully vaccinated or have a medical exemption. Coburg Uniting Church is responsible for ensuring everyone scans the QR code and provides evidence of vaccination from Medicare, or proof of exemption from an authorised medical provider. The card from the vaccination hub or your GP is unfortunately not sufficient.
The letter from Rev Ron explains the Council’s discernment and decision, and our ongoing care for people who are not yet able to attend church in person.
There is also information explaining how to download an electronic certificate to your phone or request a print certificate from Medicare.
With ongoing high levels of community transmission of COVID-19, it is crucial that we take every precaution to protect people with compromised immune systems or other
vulnerabilities. It’s how we love our neighbour and contribute to the Common Good.
Click here to read: How to attend church and access your COVID-19 Certificate
Pastoral letter
“…In your thinking be mature.” - 1 Corinthians 14: 20
Dear One and All,
The Road Back to Church: COVID Safe Measures
Let us not lead death to anyone’s door. Resisting COVID safe practices, especially not getting vaccinated, can potentially do that.
Please get fully vaccinated. Those who are double dose vaccinated will be protecting the immune suppressed in our congregation and community.
COVID 19, public health lockdowns, and vaccinations are not a deep state plot to enslave us.
There must be a will to understand the state of things. This brings integrity to knowing and understanding. Therefore seek evidence from recognized experts in medical science and epidemiology, not taking pride as some do, in turning their backs on mainstream media and science. Check for yourself from sources that are credible and peer reviewed: the COVID vaccines do not render you infertile or change your DNA, nor are they unsafe because they were rushed. (Sources: Imperial College London: COVID 19 Publications; Johns Hopkins Medicine; Mayo Clinic, et al)
Let us set an example by not letting our thinking become confused and muddied, thereby turning our moral compass upside-down, and treating the vulnerable as invisible.
We must resist moves to create a society during COVID where nobody owes anything to anyone; and everybody must fight for everything. In the name of ‘freedom’ such a position denies that we owe anything to our neighbour, to their health and wellbeing. This profoundly un-Christian way of being denies community and the possibility of a good society.
- In COVID times our church has a heightened duty of care because we have several immune compromised members and friends, and seniors who are at risk. Imagine for example, being infected with COVID 19 while doing chemotherapy; apart from your immunity taking a hit, you would have to postpone urgent lifesaving treatment.
- Our prophetic task is to provide a place of sanctuary, a safe place for the vulnerable and disadvanteged; not in the first instance to those who believe they are entitled to resist COVID safe practices. They have made their choice from a position of privilege.
Coburg Uniting Church: a COVID safe environment
We anticipate a return to church in person on Sunday, 14 November, but possibly 7 November. We await 80% of Victorians to be fully vaccinated before returning. Not long to go! We will inform you of details as soon as Church Council confirms a return date.
- In accord with Victorian legislation all those who are double vaccinated against COVID can come into church, to Coburg Uniting’s in-house worship and programs. We are required by Victorian law and moral imperative to check each person’s COVID vaccination status as a condition of entry. Unfortunately this runs the risk of widening the rifts already existing within our society, but we shall strive for reconciliation between warring groups.
If you are vaccinated, you can view and print your certificate on MyGov or download a digital copy. You can also link your certificate to the Services Victoria app which will streamline the check-in process at many venues including church. Instructions
- here: https://service.vic.gov.au/covid-19/add-covid-19-digital-certificate and
- here: https://www.facebook.com/100057765264806/posts/308792967722876/?sfnsn=mo.
Printed Immunisation History Statements can be ordered by calling Services Australia on 1800 653 809. They can take up to 14 days to arrive in the post.
If you need help with any of this please contact our Dino (dean2050@gmail.com) or myself, Ron (roncoburguc@gmail.com)
- There will be a register held by Coburg Uniting Church Council for all volunteers and paid staff at our church, to record their vaccination certificate number. This is mandated by the Uniting Church and applies to all volunteers who do anything however small or large on church property.
Ministering to the unvaccinated
We want people who are unvaccinated to be involved in our church. This will have to happen in different and safe ways. Church Council is currently discussing how we can minister to those who are unvaccinated, and vaccination status unknown. Possibilities include:
- Home communion, separate services for the unvaccinated, and continuing services and gatherings online.
- We have some duty to protect the unvaccinated from themselves. What if I, as a double vaccinated person who nevertheless might carry the COVID virus, infects an unvaccinated person at church? How far should we go in providing person to person services for the unvaccinated?
- Safeguarding public health and safety amidst a pandemic is not discrimination. To underscore that I conclude with the following:
Coburg Uniting Church Council at its 6 October meeting passed this motion:
‘We support a safe space for all and those who are immune compromised, by having a worship space that protects them by screening for double vaccinated status.’
Please stay safe, I look forward to welcoming you back to church.
Rev. Ron W. Rosinsky