March 10, 2022
Dear Follen Church,
On Tuesday, March 8, the Lexington Board of Health voted 5-0 to lift the town-wide indoor mask mandate. The Safety team at Follen has recommended that we also move to a mask-optional policy for services, activities, and day-to-day office functions with some exceptions. For hospitality, we are going to allow food indoors now, but we will set aside the library as a mask required area.
The Religious Education Action Team (REAT) has recommended that at this time, masks will continue to be worn by Nursery care providers and the Littles class: all teen assistants, adults, and children ages 3 and over will be asked to be masked while indoors until all children in the group can be vaccinated. This recommendation is based on the fact that there are some members of this community that are significantly immuno-compromised and children under 5 are not yet vaccinated. Teachers and students in other classes and groups will be encouraged to talk about masking and make decisions based on the needs/concerns of the group.
The current incidence of Covid in our community is very low, we have a very high vaccination rate, ventilation systems are functioning well and good quality masks are available. If anyone in the community needs assistance with acquiring a good quality mask for church, please reach out to the safety team. We will also be keeping our reduced capacity numbers in place for the time being.
We ask all of our community to practice Radical Hospitality. Many in our community are immuno-compromised or have other health issues that cause them to be more cautious and are not ready to remove masks or be in spaces with unmasked company. Others are eager to remove their masks. Keep your hearts open and practice compassion with our community as we navigate this state of imbalance. And please stay home and attend church remotely if you are unwell.
In faith,
The Safety Team:
Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn
Beryl Aschenberg, Director of Religious Education
Sophie Evett, President
Nick Hart, Vice President
Tom Blumenthal, Co-chair of Lay Ministry