Updated Guidance From Texas AG Opens Door For Church Services On Wednesday, Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton provided updated guidance to churches, softening previous language and opening the door for churches to start to conduct in-person services. We are pleased that Texas is giving the green light for in-person religious services to resume, as are many pastors from across the state that were on a faith leader conference call that we hosted this week. The updated guidance respects religious freedom and provides responsible recommendations for houses of worship to continue ministering while doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19. Recommendations to houses of worship include: - Encouraging attendees who are 65 years old and above to stay home and watch services online, or provide a “senior service” exclusively for attendees 65 and above to attend in person.
- Asking all attendees who have underlying at-risk health conditions to stay home and watch services online.
- Equipping ushers and greeters with protective equipment such as gloves as masks.
- Keeping child care closed unless churches can comply with CDC guidelines for child care facilities.
- Encouraging all attendees to sanitize their hands and put on masks before entering the building.
- Ensuring attendees to sit with their family unit and use social distancing between each unit, even, if necessary, adding more services times to facilitate social distancing.
- Having clergy dismiss attendees by family unit, maintaining social distancing.
- Having staff sanitize seats and frequently touched surfaces between services.
- Considering refraining from passing collection plates and instead provide a central collection box in the building or encouraging online giving.
- Considering how the sacraments can be administered without attendees having to touch the same surfaces and objections.
| |
