Church leaders support COVID restrictions

Dear Editor:

The following letter was sent on Dec. 23 on behalf of several BC clergy representing a variety of denominations, including the following signatories from the Interior:

“Dear Dr. Henry and Minister Dix,

“We are faith leaders from across British Columbia and from multiple denominations within the province. We wanted to publicly reach out to show our deep respect and appreciation for you, your staff and all those in leadership in this most challenging time.

“We fully support the work you have done throughout 2020 and appreciate your calm, considerate guidance and wisdom as you work to keep us all safe.

“As faith leaders we have worked hard to keep our communities safe and connected in many imaginative ways.

“Some of us have remained online throughout this pandemic while others have followed clearly laid out protocols for inperson worship gatherings and events in the summer and early fall.

“Each of us, along with our leadership, has prayerfully made decisions that we felt best cared for our congregations.

“Throughout all of these decisions it has been incredibly helpful to have strong guidance from the provincial health officer, the BC CDC and the provincial government. None of us have served in ministry through a global pandemic before and we look to experts to help us through these times.

“Your work has been invaluable to us. We have been deeply disappointed in the multiple times that the voices of a particular group of faith leaders have been spotlighted and amplified publicly criticizing your work and your mandates.

“As you are already aware, those voices do not speak for all of us. We want to publicly reiterate our gratitude and support for your work.

“We are deeply grateful that you have, from the beginning, taken time to be in conversation with faith leaders and have spoken publicly many times in support of the work we are doing. We are looking forward to working with Dr. Robert Daum to continue those conversations.

“Thank you for your hard work. We continue to hold each of you, your staff, our government, B.C.’s front line workers and all impacted by COVID-19 in our prayers.

In peace and gratitude,

Trinity United Church, Vernon, The Rev. Canon Chris HarwoodJones, All Saints Anglican

Church, Vernon Rev. Erik Bjorgan, Pastor, Deo Lutheran Church, Salmon Arm Rev. Curtis Aguirre, Pastor, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church,

Penticton Rev. David Hunter, Pastor, Peace Lutheran Congregation, Vernon Rev. Jane Gingrich, Pastor, Hills of Peace Lutheran Church,

Kamloops Rev. John Caswell Boyd, Pastor, St. George's Anglican Parish,

Kamloops Andrew Stephens-Rennie, Missioner, Valhalla Parish,

Castlegar Rev. Dr. Gregory Mohr, Bishop, BC Synod, Evangelical Lutheran

Church in Canada