Dear Family and Friends,

With vaccination rates rising and covid-19 infections and death falling to the lowest levels since a year ago, we’ve taken our first step towards returning to in-person services for the first time since March 2020! A few of us met in the backyard of the Errigo/Rosen home in Staten Island, and we Zoomed our service from there. We had some expected technical difficulties with wifi and sound (Zoom is just not meant for music!), but overall, the hybrid in-person/Zoom meeting actually went okay! And afterward, the kids got to swim in Mary Lynn and Steve’s pool, in spite of the freezing water.

This summer, we’re going to keep moving towards a new “normal” in a not-quite-post-covid world by having one in-person Sunday service per month at the Errigo/Rosen home. We’re still trying to figure out the best technological solution for bringing together people who are meeting in the flesh in Staten Island and people who are meeting virtually from the other four boroughs, 2 additional states, and four additional countries on any given Sunday. We’re looking at live streaming our services, with a chat feature enabled, so people can “talk” to each other during the service, and then opening up Zoom rooms at the end of the service for ministry time, contemplative prayer, fellowship, and children’s church. But we imagine that plan will evolve as we research and test our options.

We’re also still praying and discerning about starting something – we don’t know quite what – in Elmhurst, Queens. Perhaps starting a ministry or partnering with another church or organization that is already in the neighborhood.  Ryan and other leaders have begun hanging out in the neighborhood, talking to folks, seeing where God might be leading. We’re trusting God to help flesh out the details in his time.

One thing we do know for sure: our new normal will look nothing like our old normal! We can’t go back to a pre-covid reality. For one thing, we will not return to our old location, P.S. 132 in Brooklyn. For another, we will still have masking protocols for our meetings, especially for those who aren’t vaccinated, including children under 16, and for anyone who is feeling unwell or who has a health condition that makes them vulnerable to infection.

Whatever the specific shape of things to come, we are excited to discover with you what God is doing in our midst! We are thankful for the perseverance, generosity, and kindness our community has demonstrated during the pandemic, and for how God will continue to use us to love him, love each other, and love our neighbors in the year to come.

May God’s Peace Be With You,

Carrie Myers

Spiritual Director, Vineyard One NYC

Photo credit: Dale Brooks from Pexels