March 6, 2020
Pastors and Leaders in Seattle Presbytery,
It is time to cancel regular worship.
Eliana and I, as pastoral leaders in this presbytery lament this conclusion, but believe in our hearts that it’s in the best interest of our community, our neighbors, our parishioners, our family, and our friends.
Jeremiah told us to “seek the welfare of the city…and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (29:7) So let us turn our corporate worship into prayers for our community.
To be clear, by canceling worship, we come in line with the latest recommendations of King County Health Department to “cancel large gatherings.”
We appreciate all the good work your churches have done to mitigate the spread of this virus, and know that many of you are taking precautions for worship this Sunday.
But if you’re asking for our advice, we believe the more prudent path is to cancel worship until further notice. We do not know how long churches should do this, and if pastors and leaders want to pray together or discuss long term decisions, let’s figure that out.
Please don’t hesitate to let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.
As always, you are in our prayers,
In grace and peace,
Rev. Eliana Maxim, Co-Executive Presbyter
Rev. Scott Lumsden, Co-Executive Presbyter
