Status updates?

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Red Ryder
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Status updates?

Post by Red Ryder » Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:17 pm

Our ward and stake are currently open for 1 hour sacrament attendance only but also doing the video version online for people who don’t feel comfortable attending in person.

I’m currently not attending in person or watching online. :lol: I’m dreading the ward announcing a return of the 2nd hour because the wife and I are primary teachers. I just might have to continue my inactive ways.

What is your ward doing and what level are you participating? Will you go back?
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alas
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Re: Status updates?

Post by alas » Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:36 pm

Red Ryder wrote:
Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:17 pm
Our ward and stake are currently open for 1 hour sacrament attendance only but also doing the video version online for people who don’t feel comfortable attending in person.

I’m currently not attending in person or watching online. :lol: I’m dreading the ward announcing a return of the 2nd hour because the wife and I are primary teachers. I just might have to continue my inactive ways.

What is your ward doing and what level are you participating? Will you go back?
Our ward is doing sacrament meeting, with video for those who feel they can’t attend in person. Our bishop was pretty clear that he didn’t want high risk groups attending, as our ward has a lot of older folks. My husband usually watches part of it at least. The music doesn’t carry well over the video and he turns that off. If the talks get too boring, he turns it off. He has no plans to go back before he is vaccinated, and although he could be vaccinated now if there was enough vaccine as he is over 70, no telling when the government will get its act together enough to get it distributed. I, of course won’t be back, but it is kind of funny, that I have almost enjoyed listening while he watches.

He feels that more than one priesthood holder is needed for sacrament blessing, and so he has not had sacrament for almost a year, but feels that it is not the physical partaking, but what you hold in your heart.

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Ghost
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Re: Status updates?

Post by Ghost » Mon Jan 18, 2021 1:15 pm

My ward had been meeting in person and also broadcasting for a while, but a few weeks ago the virus was actually spread at church despite precautions and they moved back to video only. (I haven't been attending or watching, personally.)

We have several ward members with the virus right now, including at least one in the hospital. Others have recovered (though almost no one I know who has had it feels like they are entirely back to normal).

lostinmiddlemormonism
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Re: Status updates?

Post by lostinmiddlemormonism » Tue Jan 19, 2021 9:20 am

1 hour sacrament meetings of 25 or so, with the rest joining online. Sunday school and etc., is all online. We have just done house church. It is soooooo much better.

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El Chihuahua Chingón
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Re: Status updates?

Post by El Chihuahua Chingón » Tue Jan 19, 2021 1:53 pm

In-person sacrament meetings are optional in my stake, and all other meetings are online. I've been a primary teacher for almost 5 years now, so it's been nice not having to think about my church obligations for almost a year now.

However, once we start to meet in-person for the 2nd hour I am going to ask to be released from my calling. I don't feel comfortable teaching D&C, especially to little kids. I refuse to teach something I don't agree with, and I won't be passive and participate in any degree of brainwashing.

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wtfluff
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Re: Status updates?

Post by wtfluff » Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:18 pm

Ghost wrote:
Mon Jan 18, 2021 1:15 pm
...
but a few weeks ago the virus was actually spread at church despite precautions
...
This is a "statistic" that I would love to know: How many people have contracted the virus because they "just had to go" to LDS-Inc. meetings?
Faith does not give you the answers, it just stops you asking the questions. -Frater Ravus

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Deepthinker
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Re: Status updates?

Post by Deepthinker » Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:37 pm

Our ward is making in-person Sacrament meeting optional. The church service portion (minus Sacrament) is broadcast for ward members to watch from home. They've asked that half the ward go one week, the other half attend the other week to reduce the number of people at church (split it by last name alphabetically). Second hour meetings are all online.

Basically, I've been attending every other week for the 45 minutes or so and then watching from home the other week is hit or miss.

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nibbler
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Re: Status updates?

Post by nibbler » Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:45 pm

What is your ward doing and what level are you participating?
My stake went back to weekly in-person SM about 4 months ago. We didn't alter course when the governor limited indoor gatherings to 10 people (just ignored the mandate). We haven't altered course in light of things being statistically worse than they've ever been, even with hospitals beyond capacity in some areas, even with a few local members in the ICU.

We also do virtual 2nd hour. Each axillary gives a class once a month on their designated Sunday.

Will you go back?
No. There's a higher concentration of anti-maskers and anti-vaccine people at church. It's a matter of trust and I can't trust the group to put the community's wellbeing over their own desires to show the world how independent they are - or whatever the flex is.

Right now I'm doing the virtual meetings. I have no way of knowing but I suspect the virtual meetings will continue for at least another year. Maybe they're permanent, who knows?

Soon I may bow out of even the virtual meetings. Stripping out all the pomp and circumstance has really underscored just how uninspiring, irrelevant, and uninteresting our meetings are.
We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.
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Corsair
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Re: Status updates?

Post by Corsair » Tue Jan 19, 2021 3:10 pm

Still on the 1 hour sacrament meeting only although both Elders Quorum and Relief Society each have had additional Sunday meetings. RS met over Zoom twice and Elders Quorum had an (allegedly) social distanced meeting live at the church.

Once of my friends in on the high council and he said that different wards are getting more "meeting privileges" as they keep the church mandated COVID restrictions. There is a ward or two in my stake that is now allowed to sing hymns because everyone keeps their masks on. The scofflaws in my ward are still just listening to music. Here's hoping that the status continues as such.

Cnsl1
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Re: Status updates?

Post by Cnsl1 » Tue Jan 19, 2021 8:55 pm

We went from no church at all, to live meetings for one hour once a month, to one hour meetings every Sunday--with all being broadcast to people who wanted to stay home. Interestingly, when the virus got worse in our area, we didn't back off church, but stayed the current course. They keep every other pew open in the chapel and hope that those of us in the back segregate ourselves appropriately. I'd guess we're now at about half the people in masks, and that's including those on the stand or speaking (unless they are actually speaking, when they pull them off).

We recently had a virtual stake conference. Only those participating were invited to attend. We watched it and It seemed to go ok. It seemed like most there did not have masks, but it's hard to tell.

I've enjoyed the one hour church. Well, I guess I should say that I've enjoyed it much more than the old three hour or two hour version. It's still hit or miss as far as being remotely edifying, and we generally attend about 75% of the time, so maybe we've missed some edifying meetings. My wife has missed the social connectedness of church, the worshipping together. I certainly miss seeing some of the people, but I'm finding i have less and less in common with them, particularly through this current pandemic and political tension.

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moksha
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Re: Status updates?

Post by moksha » Wed Jan 20, 2021 3:16 am

nibbler wrote:
Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:45 pm
Will you go back?
No. There's a higher concentration of anti-maskers and anti-vaccine people at church. It's a matter of trust and I can't trust the group to put the community's wellbeing over their own desires to show the world how independent they are - or whatever the flex is.
This does pose an ongoing health risk. A sizeable portion of the Saints will refuse vaccination, even though the top leadership of the Church received their first COVID-19 vaccination yesterday.
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

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Culper Jr.
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Re: Status updates?

Post by Culper Jr. » Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:09 pm

Our ward was doing 1 hour optional either in person or broadcast Sacrament meeting, with Zoom SS and PH/RS. We just had a spike of cases in our area, so they have now completely cut out the in person meetings and it's all broadcast now.

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Hagoth
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Re: Status updates?

Post by Hagoth » Thu Jan 21, 2021 7:02 pm

I am not attending in any form, but Mrs. Hagoth does both meetings online. I'm struggling with whether or not I will want to return to attending any in-person sacrament meetings once it feel safe, but only because I hate the thought of my sweet wife sitting alone as the subject of judgmental and/or piteous glares.
“The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.” -Mark Twain

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Linked
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Re: Status updates?

Post by Linked » Fri Jan 22, 2021 12:15 pm

My ward is holding weekly 1 hour Sacrament Meetings which DW attends. She takes the kids every few weeks and I have gone once for Christmas. The other classes are all every other week online.

DW was just asked to go back to working with the YW after spending the last 7 years in primary where she is currently teaching my son. She was leaning toward declining until my son told her that he doesn't really care if she's his teacher :lol: .

I can't imagine going back more often than an occasional visit.
"I would write about life. Every person would be exactly as important as any other. All facts would also be given equal weightiness. Nothing would be left out. Let others bring order to chaos. I would bring chaos to order" - Kurt Vonnegut

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jfro18
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Re: Status updates?

Post by jfro18 » Fri Jan 22, 2021 6:18 pm

Our ward (im in midwest) has been doing in person sacrament but I believe are limiting to 10 people as per the rules and then has it on zoom. DW goes every week in person, and then she races home to do online sunday school.

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2bizE
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Re: Status updates?

Post by 2bizE » Fri Jan 22, 2021 9:57 pm

I have gone a few Sundays without even thinking about church...Tender mercies.
~2bizE

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MalcolmVillager
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Re: Status updates?

Post by MalcolmVillager » Sat Jan 23, 2021 3:45 pm

Red Ryder wrote:
Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:17 pm
Our ward and stake are currently open for 1 hour sacrament attendance only but also doing the video version online for people who don’t feel comfortable attending in person.

I’m currently not attending in person or watching online. :lol: I’m dreading the ward announcing a return of the 2nd hour because the wife and I are primary teachers. I just might have to continue my inactive ways.

What is your ward doing and what level are you participating? Will you go back?
My exact situation RR. They ask us to rotate every other week, but we have only gone once and watched online once. The kids are ready to head back but Mrs V and I are dreading going back and have considered asking to be released or at least for a to teacher to rotate every other week.

We will see.

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