St. Mark’s Church State of Emergency – COVID-19 Access Guidelines Jan.14, 2021
This guide provides St. Mark’s congregation and users with information on what is required during the recently announced provincial “State of Emergency-Grey Lockdown” period, which began in Toronto on Thursday, Jan.14th and will continue until Thursday, Feb.11th to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
- St. Mark’s is closed to the general public and all group activities
- Sunday worship is currently taking place online and will continue to do so
- Visitors are not allowed in the church with the exception of those performing essential services. (ie: work, building maintenance, cleaning and plant care) Visitors must not enter if they have any concerns regarding health or disease transmission and or signs of COVID-19 (cough, fever, difficulty breathing etc..)
- No activities other than essential services (ie: winter maintenance and sign updating) should take place on the grounds or in the parking lot
- There is no access to the church offices and all remaining rooms and spaces within the church are limited to essential use only
- All visitors must wear a mask and practice “Social Distancing” (2 metres) at all times while inside the facility
- All visitors must use hand sanitizer (provided) during entry and exit of the building
- Upon entry, Visitors must sign in on the provided “Visitors Contact List” indicating the Date and Time along with their Name and Contact Information
Church cleaning as follows:
- The church is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected twice a week using Federal government approved COVID-19 cleaning agents and the frequency may be increased as user activity within the church rises
- Special care is taken to disinfect high use and high touch areas during each cleaning
- Church staff disinfects all high touch surfaces before exiting the building at the end of each day (4 times a week)
If you require further information please feel free to call the church office.
St. Mark’s Church COVID-19 Access Guidelines – Dec. 4, 2020
This guide provides St. Mark’s congregation and users with information on what is required during the provincial “Grey-Lockdown” period, which began in Toronto on November 23 to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
- St. Mark’s is closed to the general public and all group activities
- Sunday worship is currently taking place online and will continue to do so
- Visitors are allowed in the church for essential purposes only, but Visitors must not enter if they have any concerns regarding health or disease transmission and or signs of COVID-19 (cough, fever, difficulty breathing etc..)
- There is no access to the church offices and all remaining rooms and spaces within the church are limited to essential use only
- All visitors must wear a mask and practice “Social Distancing” (2 metres) at all times while inside the facility
- All visitors must use hand sanitizer (provided) during entry and exit of the building
- Upon entry, Visitors must sign in on the provided “Visitors Contact List” indicating the Date and Time along with their Name and Contact Information
Church cleaning as follows:
- The church is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected twice a week using Federal government approved COVID-19 cleaning agents and the frequency may be increased as user activity within the church rises
- Special care is taken to disinfect high use and high touch areas during each cleaning
- Church staff disinfects all high touch surfaces before exiting the building at the end of each day (4 times a week)
If you require further information please feel free to call the church office.
Faith in a Time of Isolation – Oct 2, 2020
Our own Katharina Manassis speaks with Christopher White about these changing and challenging times. Dr Katharina Manassis helps us all to navigate the second stage of Covid19. The metaphor she uses is moving from an emergency into managing a chronic illness.
Here is an earlier interview with Katharina and Christopher from April: Dr Katharina Mannasis, a child psychiatrist and author, shares how to keep ourselves and relationships healthy through this time of isolation. She speaks about we support our children, teenagers, partners and ourselves in a very challenging time. We will get through this!
August 2020 Update
St. Mark’s Board has decided that we will not be resuming face to face services in September. Services will continue on Zoom for now, and the Board will re-evaluate this decision month by month.
The time, energy and risk in face to face services would be considerable for both staff and volunteers. The potential benefit is limited by the small numbers allowed with physical distancing (20 per service) and the many elements which are prohibited (no singing, responsive prayers, Sunday School, communion, coffee time, etc.
On the positive side, St. Mark’s is blessed with an abundance of energetic, creative people who have devised virtual, small group, and outdoor/drive-in activities which are feasible despite the current restrictions. Thus, with appropriate precautions, we can come together in new ways to celebrate our community and our faith. These will be communicated as plans firm up. It is clearly difficult that we cannot all meet together yet, this is a safe and encouraging start. Thank you again for your understanding, and for your continuing contributions to the life of our church!
June 2020 Update
