e-Letter

Dear West View family

It was so good to meet face-to-face (or is that mask-to-mask) with those who were at in-person worship last Sunday. If you’re considering returning to in-person worship, but are unsure about how safe it is, I recommend worshipping at the 8h00 service where attendance is below 20. In a sanctuary the size of ours, these numbers make gathering extra safe. 10h00 this Sunday is our annual W.A. service. Our guest preacher is Patrizia Scott.

Thank you for your ongoing generosity to God’s work both through West View and through the relief efforts following the KZN unrest. Relief Fund contributions (including the R15 000 from Ditshego) totalled R45 340. Tithes and offerings in July totalled R433 573, R26 427 (5.7%) below budget.

As people become vaccinated, some have asked whether we can anticipate worshipping in-person without masks and physical distancing. Unfortunately, this is not recommended. While a Covid-19 vaccine will greatly reduce the chances of serious illness and death, we still don’t know the extent to which it keeps you from being infected and passing the virus on to others. The more we allow the virus to spread, the more opportunity the virus has to change. You can read more about this here (https://www.news24.com/health24/getting-to-know-vaccines/covid-19-vaccine-myths-debunked-get-the-facts-here-20210708)

So for the foreseeable future, we will continue to wear masks, maintain a distance of 1.5m from each other, sanitise and worship with windows open. The best way of thinking about the vaccine is to liken it to wearing a seat belt whilst driving. In the event of an accident, a seatbelt greatly reduces the risk of serious injury or death, but it doesn’t totally remove that risk. Similarly, getting vaccinated greatly reduces the risk of being out-and-about, but it is still wise for us to continue with physical distancing.

COVID VACCINATION REGISTRATION:

If you are unsure about how to register online, please feel free to pop in at the office Mondays to Fridays 8am to 3pm and a staff member will gladly assist you. Remember to bring along your ID number and contact details.

Grace and Peace

Ian