Good morning TMC,

The Leadership Team and I have been in communication this past week about the updated guidelines from the CDC and Health Department, both nationally and in Ohio. I have also been in contact with the parents of young children at TMC, and several others. We have decided to make some changes to our mask requirement for public worship services at Toledo Mennonite Church.

Please read carefully. We ask for your full and honest cooperation with this new approach. As with all things, we have sought the Spirit's guidance for what is best for our congregation. What we suggest below does not necessarily apply to all situations, places, and groups you may encounter. In all things, please practice love of neighbor by adhering to the guidelines and requests of the places and groups you interact with.

With regard to public indoor events at TMC:

1) Fully vaccinated adults are no longer required to wear masks during worship at Toledo Mennonite Church. We trust and expect that people will be honest about their vaccination status.

2) Unvaccinated individuals age 12 and older need to wear masks. As best as I and the Leadership Team are aware, this is only a few individuals. Overall, we are a highly vaccinated congregation. Unvaccinated individuals are still at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Additionally, unvaccinated individuals pose the greatest risk to spread the disease to others. If you are unvaccinated, for your own health, and for the well-being of others, please wear a mask when you attend an in-door event at TMC. This applies to regular participants as well as visitors.

3) I also want to take this time to again offer my encouragement to get vaccinated if you are unvaccinated. I have been vaccinated. The vaccine has been thoroughly tested and proven safe and effective. See below for even more encouragement to get vaccinated.

4) What do we ask of our children who are under 12 years of age and are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine? One option is to require children to wear masks. Another option is to require masks for everyone until children can be vaccinated. Ultimately, we think it is safe to allow unvaccinated children under the age of 12 to not wear masks. Children are already at lower risk of COVID-19. Plus, given our high vaccination rate as a congregation, our children will essentially be protected by herd immunity because individuals over the age of 12 will either be vaccinated or be wearing a mask. I have spoken to families of young children at TMC, and they have all indicated their comfort with this approach.

We hope and trust that this approach will be appropriate for our congregation. Remember, the goal has never been to completely eradicate the disease or to eliminate all risk. There will always be some measure of risk. However, with this approach, you are more at risk of getting into a serious accident while driving to worship than you will be of contracting COVID while at TMC. All along, the goal has been to flatten the curve, not overwhelm the hospital system, and not to blatantly spread the disease in a careless fashion. For our part, we at TMC have done that, and we will continue to do that.

If you have any questions or want to talk any further, you may feel free to reach out to me.

I look forward to being with you all on Sunday and do so with great confidence for our collective well-being.

Grace and Peace
Pastor Joel Shenk