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Dear sisters and brothers,

Greetings from the Church of Saint John the Evangelist. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for everyone, and we are very aware of the challenges that have been faced by young families. The closing of schools, the trials of online learning from home, and the cancellation of age-appropriate programming in the community, have been difficult for young families and children.

We want you to know that at your church we are building towards the reopening of programs for children while providing the best resources we can in the meantime. This Sunday we will celebrate the commissioning our new Coordinator of Children’s, Youth, and Family ministries, Daniela Cruz. Daniela comes to us with a lot of experience working with children and adults, and she if full of energy and enthusiasm for her new role. You are likely to soon be hearing from Daniela about her plans for a Christmas pageant that will be drawn together on video. This will give our families an activity to participate in and an opportunity to meet Daniela. While Daniela has this project on the front burner, she is also working to get things in place for the restarting of Children’s Church and other children’s programming at St John’s.

Some families have been asking why St John’s has not restarted indoor children’s programs already. Our COVID-19 protocols are set by the Diocese of Niagara and have taken a balanced cautious approach to reopening. As the reopening of schools and daycare centres have shown, the gathering of children is not without risk. Roughly half of all outbreaks in the Province of Ontario at this time are related to elementary schools and daycares; that is ninety-four outbreaks in these settings. The encouraging news, however, is that we seem to be some short weeks—or even just days—away from the authorization and availability of vaccines for children. As we know, vaccinations greatly reduces the risks of infection. We expect that the beginning of these vaccinations will result in a further lessening of the restrictions in our COVID-19 protocols allowing us all to gather again. That is something we are all looking forward to!

In the meantime, please let me remind you of some the resources that are available to you:

  • The Diocese of Niagara’s online Sunday School and other wonderful resources are available on our Anglican Family Hub, on Facebook at Facebook.com/Anglicanfamilyhub.
  • Children’s Choir, directed by Susan McKay, continues to meet outdoors (weather permitting) or online as they are able.
  • Daniela Cruz, our new Coordinator is available and would love to hear from you. This is a great time to plug into the planning for the Christmas Pageant. Daniela can be reached at cruz@rockonlocke.ca.

Please keep an eye on the parish website and in the parish news for news about our children’s, youth, and family programs. Daniela will be updating our website regularly here: https://www.rockonlocke.ca/programs/childrens-youth-and-family-resources.

As we make plans for the reopening of children’s programs it would be very helpful if you would complete this form so that we can be sure we have the most up to date information for your family. Please take the time to compete this short form now. Thank you for your assistance. As always, please don’t hesitate to be in touch with me if you have any questions or concerns. I am always happy to hear from you. 

Peace, David +

What We Do
Children's, Youth, and Family Resources