Dear members of All Saints (and their friends)
It is with much disappointment that I'm writing to let you know that we are cancelling in-person worship at All Saints effective immediately until further notice. This means that there will be no 3 pm service on Christmas Eve and the 11 pm service on Christmas Eve will be livestreamed beginning at 10 pm, (also available anytime after that on our website) and the 11 am service on Dec. 26 will also be livestream only. Going forward, we will be continuing live-stream only worship of the 11 am Sunday morning service until further notice. This very difficult decision was made by the Corporation, the Music Minister and myself earlier this afternoon.
This decision was prompted by a request from Bishop Geoff that we suspend these in-person worship services, as well as his directive that, as of Dec. 27, all in-person worship is suspended. In addition, we were able to receive guidance from a medical officer of health in Winnipeg who is a member of saint benedict's table. In his communication with us he writes:
"So many of my colleagues would be saying at this time, no way you should be having an in-person gathering at this time ... I agree with the bishop to suspend all Christmas eve/day in person services and go back to online/virtual platforms with the highest most rigorous personal protective measures in place even for the few of you who will be gathering in the church building."
I want to encourage you to participate, where possible, in our online worship services - even if you do so the day after. All of the leadership at All Saints wish you a blessed Christmas as we continue to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ - a glorious gift that no one and no thing can take away!
In Christ's love,
+ Donald
Please pass this message on to anyone you know who might be planning on attending one of our Christmas Services.
Christmas Eve Livestream can be found here: https://youtu.be/wbLjzz0Ymik
All online services can be found here: https://www.allsaintswinnipeg.ca/online-services