A COVID-19 Update from our Lead Pastor and Board President
Dear family & friends at Good Shepherd,
Over this past week, our COVID-19 Task Force met to come up with recommendations on how to move forward as a congregation in light of our experiences of the last two months and as we look ahead into the summer. The task force was formed in March and is made up of a select group of members who also serve as leaders in the community in areas like health care, education and law enforcement. Those recommendations were sent to our Executive Committee and our Church Staff for further discussion and input.
The recommendations led our Executive Committee to set the following policies in order to be good neighbors to each other, our communities and the most vulnerable among us.
- We will continue to worship online only for the foreseeable future.
- Our buildings and grounds will remain closed to church functions, except for the Food Pantry at the Madison Campus and the Food Pantry Garden at the Verona Campus.
The guiding principle for ourselves as a church has been, and continues to be, using an abundance of caution in discerning our best path forward. GSLC is considered a community leader in many ways. But in the case of a public health crisis, we think it’s wiser for us to follow the lead of other institutions as they negotiate the realities of a virus about which so little is known. We are brainstorming ways to gather as a large group at some point this summer, such as an outdoor “drive-in” worship service. We will announce more about this effort in the future.
However, I am constantly reminded that our church, in fact, has never actually closed. The mission and ministry of Good Shepherd has always been about more than just the buildings. We will share more stories of your church in action in the days and weeks to come.
Thank you for all your continued prayers and support. God has seen us safely to this day. We will emerge from this time even more closely connected to God, each other and God’s world.
Sincerely,
Pr. Chris Enstad
Lead Pastor
Andrew Seaborg
Congregation President
Covid-19 Task Force
[vc_row][vc_column width=’1/2′]
- Sara McCormack
Church VP and Task Force Chair - Andrew Seaborg
Church President - Pr. Chris Enstad
Lead Pastor - Rick Blum
Director of Administration - Rick Thomas
Director of Facilities and Interim Director of Social Action - Brent Marshall
Facility Manager – Four Winds Manor - Dr. Paul Bekx
Medical Director, Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections
[/vc_column][vc_column width=’1/2′]
- Dr. Paul Friesen
Professor of Molecular Virology, UW - Det. Matt Wentzel
Madison Police Department - Dr. Sarah Schaettle
Psychiatrist - Kristi Jones
Public Health Professional - Diane Kohrs
Former Hospital Security Administrator - Tracy Dahl
Director of Echoes of Grace, Teacher, Parent
[/vc_column][/vc_row]
