November news update

Opening the doors
The big news today is that after filling out and submitting the forms, St. Matthew's has been approved by the diocese to move into the Amber Stage of re-opening.
Our first in-person service will take place at 11 am on Sunday, November 15, in the parish hall.
(The photo above is of the church, but the crew cleaned it only to keep it maintained. It is easier to follow the protocols in the hall.)
You can read everything about the Amber Stage here. The important points for anyone wishing to attend the service are that we all (unless we have a health condition that prevents it) need to wear masks and we need to stay home if we feel at all unwell -- the usual pandemic protocols everywhere. Masks will be available for anyone who needs one.
Records will be kept for contact tracing. No congregational singing or chanting is allowed. The furnace has to be off during the service, but the building can be heated up ahead of time. (Wear a coat, though.)
Thorough cleaning and disinfecting has already begun. The cleaning crew has done two one-hour cleanings of the church and hall, masked and distanced, with another one-hour session planned for Thursday at 11 am.
Online services are continuing, so if you are at-risk or worried at all, you can still join the community in prayer on Sundays by going to the website, here.

Put in your chili order! 🌶 
Christ Church, Dresden, is doing its chili luncheon on Tuesday, November 17, and we thought it would be fun (and delicious!) to support that with curbside pickup. One of us will head to Dresden that day to pick up everyone's order and bring it back to Florence. 
Write to stmatthewsflorence@gmail.com to put in your order and to say how you will pay ahead of the pickup. Cash in an envelope is fine, they say.
Here are your options:
You get chili, a roll, carrot/celery sticks, and dessert for $8.
They are selling pies, too. A whole pie is $10. Choices are cherry, apple, blueberry, raisin, and mincemeat. 
Best to get your order to us by the Monday, so we can get it to Dresden in lots of time. 

Facemask making
Now that stores are selling reusable facemasks, our mask-makers are nearly out of business! Lost track at the end, but we distributed around 1,500 before the demand dropped off. 
We have some Christmas fabric. If you know of any person or group who would like Christmas masks, let us know. We are happy to whip them up!

Little Free Pantry
We're going to keep going with the pantry as is until the temperatures drop below freezing. Then we will remove anything that might burst, but we think it will work to keep instant potatoes, macaroni, dry goods, facemasks, etc., on the shelves. 

The fall canvass
If you wish to know what you have donated to date in order to work out what you wish to contribute to the fall canvass, write to lawrene.denkers@gmail.com or to stmatthewsflorence@gmail.com.   

Christmas Eve service ⭐
The plan is to hold our Christmas Eve service at 4:30 pm on Thursday, December 24. It's something to look forward to!