Portland, Maine, Jan 6, 2022 / 16:00 pm
The Diocese of Portland will continue to permit attendance at Mass, even as the state’s Council of Churches has urged all services to move online in light of a recent surge in coronavirus cases.
“This isn’t about sending care packages or Hallmark cards (though those are certainly nice),” said Maine Council of Churches Executive Director Jane Field in a statement published Jan. 4.
“For starters, it’s about making the difficult and necessary decision to return to virtual online worship services only and refrain from in-person church gatherings during this deadly surge. It’s also about sending a clear message from the pulpit that getting vaccinated, boosted, and wearing masks when in public is a moral imperative for anyone who follows the commandment to love their neighbor,” she added.
Further, said Field, churches should “offer up [their] church building as a pop-up vaccine clinic site.”