Interim Grace Notes for August 13, 2021

Block Party Disappointment

After months, many meetings, and untold hours of preparation and planning, it was certainly a disappointment when we canceled the Block Party on Thursday morning. A convergence of three factors led to the decision - the weather forecast was for storms mid-to-late afternoon and early evening, a Heat Index in the Extreme Caution to Danger range, and Sandusky County now being in the red (high) zone for Covid-19 community transmission.

Fortunately, our financial losses were minimal; the Kona Ice people did not charge us anything, and neither did the DJ. The Bounce House business owner did not demand full payment for the day ($400), but we did compensate him $100 which will cover labor costs to unload, unfold, and then refold and reload the two houses, which had been rolled out (but not blown up) on the floor of the auditorium. The earlier-in-the-week forecast of storms led us to move the Bounce Houses indoors. Food purchased for the event is either packaged (e.g. Doritos for walking tacos) or can be frozen for later use (groud beef, hot dogs, buns).

"Later use" might be an Oktoberfest event. Heather will coordinate the distribution of the backpacks from 9-noon on Saturday, as the parents and kids will need them long before any Oktoberfest event.

Thanks to all who worked so hard to plan this event. Most of that work will be redeemed when our alternative future event is scheduled and carried out.

Congregational Vitality Survey

At our first Transition Team meeting, I administered a "Congregational Vitality Survey." It takes just a few minutes to complete, as it has only fifteen items that ask the questions "How well do these phrases describe your congregation?" and "How well does your congregation do the following?" which are answered with a number from 1-5, with 1 meaning "Hardly at all" or "Poorly," to 5 meaning "Very well" or "Great." This survey was part of an ELCA project to give congregations a means of measuring their vitality. What is Congregational Vitality? The survey website describes it like this:

It's about relationships with God, one another and our neighbors. Vital congregations exude a certain kind of vibrancy, a friendly welcoming manner, and God's presence is tangible. Those who attend regularly have a sense of purpose. They support each other by nurturing one another's faith and helping each other identify their spiritual gifts and use those gifts in the congregation and in the world. When they disagree they do so in a respectful manner, ultimately strengthening the congregation. The people in these vital congregations understand God's mission goes beyond their walls. They intentionally connect with the wider Christian community and within their local context to share the good news in word and deed by striving to be God's hands in the world.

Having the Transition Team complete and quickly score this survey gave us some insights as to how members of the team see the vitality of Grace. I'd like to give the entire congregation a chance to respond to this survey, so my plan is to write a brief article to include in the September Grace & Truth, along with a link to the survey. We'll also

• send the link in a Mailchimp email, which will make it easier to respond to online.
• provide hard copies of the survey for members to complete, and Transition Team members will then enter the responses into the online survey.

Those of you who are reading this can respond now to the survey by clicking or tapping the following link: Congregational Vitality Survey
Transition Team members note: I know you already have completed this survey, but if you wouldn't mind doing it again, your responses will be joined and averaged with everyone else who will eventually complete the survey. It will only take about five minutes to complete, so do it now if you have a few minutes. My plan is to keep the survey open until September 10.

Transition Team Meeting Next Thursday

The Transiton Team's next meeting will be next Thursday, August 19, at 4:30 pm. We will continue our planning for our Historical Reflection Event in October.

Temporary Return to Pre-filled Communion Kits

LInda included this in today's Just Three Things email, but repeating it here: Due to an increase in positive COVID cases in our county, beginning this weekend we will return to using the pre-filled communion kits. We also are suggesting that if you have not been vaccinated yet, that you consider wearing a mask in the sanctuary.

Latest CDC Covid-19 Level of Community Spread Report

For the last two weeks I have posted a chart indicating the CDC report on the levels of community transmission in Sandusky and surrounding counties.

A county's level of transmission is based on just two metrics: new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people and the positivity rate, both measured over the last seven days. The basic idea is that these show how much virus is spreading around us.

Specifically, a "Low" transmission is considered no more than 10 cases per 100,000 people, or a test positivity rate of less than 5%. "Moderate" transmission is 10 to 50 cases per 100,000 people, or a positivity rate between 5% and 8%. "Substantial" transmission is 50 to 100 cases per 100,000, or a positivity rate between 8% and 10%, and "high" transmission is 100 or more cases per 100,000 people or a positivity rate of 10% or higher.

Health guidance issued Tuesday recommends that fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors if they're in areas with "substantial" or "high" transmission of Covid-19. Below is the latest chart, which shows the levels of transmission for the last three weeks. Note that I have added color to the chart, which helps to graphically illustrate the changes.

	Jul 23 - July 29	Jul 29 - Aug 4	Aug 6 - Aug 12
Sandusky	Substantial	Substantial	High
Wood	Moderate	Substantial	High
Ottawa	Substantial	Substantial	High
Erie	Substantial	High	High
Huron	Substantial	Substantial	High
Seneca	Moderate	Moderate	Substantial

Latest Osterholm Podcast

Dr. Michael Osterholm, founder and Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, continues to deliver solid scientific analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic in his weekly podcasts. The weekly format had recently gone to an every-other-week format, but with the delta surge, the schedule has returned to weekly programs. This week's episode is titled: "Straight Talk," in which Dr. Osterholm and host Chris Dall discuss major topics listeners have been asking about, including vaccine effectiveness, herd immunity, masking, risks to children, and mandates. You can listen to or download this episode HERE.

Tribute to Rev. Walt Wangerin

In last week's post I announced the death of Rev. Walt Wangerin, a noted Lutheran writer, theologian, teacher, speaker and professor at Valparaiso University. Philip Yancy, a contemporary Christian author wrote a tribute to Walt in Christianity Today, which you can read HERE.

Bishop Daniel's latest email

You can read it HERE.