“…acting out of an abundance of caution for everyone is the most loving thing we can do.”
As you’ve no doubt heard, the Delta variant of the Corona virus is spreading through Oregon. Governor Brown has put a statewide mask mandate back in place for indoor spaces. In response, St. Gabriel has made the difficult decision to cancel or postpone all in-person indoor meetings and gatherings except for sanctuary worship, until the current wave of cases is behind us, effective immediately Friday, August 13, 2021. 
This is painful – we’ve only just begun to hold events at the church – but from the very first day of this pandemic, we’ve adhered to the primary goal of safety first for all who come here. On October 1, 2021 we will reassess this policy – we all want to reopen again as soon as it is safe.
For all of us, these setbacks are disappointing and acting out of an abundance of caution for everyone is the most loving thing we can do. With God’s help and love to sustain us and the community’s support for one another, we will make it through.
virus image from firstpost.com
The St. Gabriel community celebrated Independence Day and the glory of God by having an outdoor and online Eucharist followed by a picnic on Sunday, July 4th. What a wonderful way to celebrate together in every sense of the word!
We held our first in-person service in over a year, and on Pentecost, no less!
The 10am service was a hybrid of in-person and Zoom, with a screen set up so that folks in the church could see the folks online, and extra cameras so that the folks on Zoom could see everything going on in the sanctuary. It was an absolutely glorious combination of the new and the old. Drive-up Eucharist was also offered so that everyone could come to the Lord’s table, whether they had experienced the service online or in person. Thank you to everyone who helped make our first hybrid service a success!
Our Profile Booklet is Nearly Finished
Although it’s been a little quiet, not to worry! St. Gabriel’s Profile Committee has still been hard at work wrapping up the Profile Booklet to use in our rector search. In this digital age, our “booklet” is actually an online document rather than a printed one. The finished version will be ready to present to the vestry and clergy the first week of June, and then it will go to the diocese and the bishop for approval. After that it will be presented to the congregation and released for consideration to new rector candidates. The Search Committee that actually looks for and considers candidates is formed and ready to start meeting to continue the next step towards finding our new rector.
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Our New Church Website Design is Nearly Finished Too!
Our website is being simultaneously redesigned at the same time our Profile Booklet is being created. Our goal is to have it ready by the end of May so that when our rector candidates look at our website, it looks fresh and current and is easy to navigate. When it is live, we will let you know in The Messenger so you can take a look. Going forward we hope you will visit often for current events, news, and contact information.