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COVID-19 UPDATE for 3/30/20

Join Wednesday webinar with the Bishop

Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky invites clergy and laity in the three conferences of the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area to a webinar discussing the impact the coronavirus is having on local churches across the region.
 
The webinar will be held Wednesday morning, April 1, at 9 a.m. Pacific Time (8 a.m. Alaska Time and 10 a.m. Mountain Time).

To participate in the webinar, please register in advance through Zoom. The registration is available now and everyone is welcome.
 
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

For those who haven’t used Zoom before, please visit https://greaternw.zoom.us/test in advance of the meeting to test your connection and download needed software.
 
You can also call into the webinar by phone to listen. Call-in numbers will be provided for individuals by email after they register.
  
The webinar offers a chance for individuals to submit questions during the conversation that may be answered by the Bishop and other panelists she may invite into the discussion.
 


GNW COVID-19 management team continues monitoring situation

Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky has been convening calls with a Greater Northwest Area COVID-19 crisis management team since March 6 to monitor the ever-changing coronavirus and the impact it has on local communities and churches across Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
 
This team -- which represents the Alaska Conference, Oregon-Idaho Conference and Pacific Northwest Conference – is comprised of conference leaders, clergy, laity, and emergency response team coordinators. The Rev. Carlo Rapanut, Alaska Conference Superintendent, serves as the team leader.
 
The team meets at least twice a week to monitor news and updates from health departments at the state and federal levels. The team also includes working groups that focus on issues such as worship: restrictions, resources and tech support; financial resiliency of local churches; ministries with vulnerable populations; communications, among others.
 
As appropriate, the team has been responding to the needs of churches and church members in our area. For example, and it quickly identified that some churches would need resourcing to move critical meetings online. Over 160 local churches responded to an offer receive licenses to the Zoom videoconferencing platform at a heavily subsidized rate.
 
The team has been responding, as appropriate, to the needs of churches and church members in our Area and helps the Bishop make decisions, when necessary, that impact more than 400 congregations across 900,000 square miles.
 
As decisions are made, news and information is shared via email, social media, webinars, and the Greater NW Area website where resources continue to be posted or modified www.greaternw.org/coronavirus.

 
Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference Conference Center - 1505 SW 18th Avenue - Portland, Oregon, 97201-2524
503-226-7931 or 1-800-JWesley (800-593-7539)
Boldly Making Disciples of Jesus Christ ~ Vitalizing the Church ~ Transforming the World