Clergy Association: No Compo Services This Summer

The Westport/Weston Clergy Association writes:

We express our gratitude to the wider community for the collective efforts to keep one another safe and prevent further spread of the doronavirus, and for all the kindness, patience and creativity that’s been expressed in response to the pandemic.

Each house of worship is developing its own plan for moving forward. The members of the Clergy Association share a commitment to move at a measured pace, protect and defend our most vulnerable populations and avoid further burdening our health care system. We are guided by faith traditions that call us to care for neighbors, to love and not to harm, and to save lives.

We are further committed to making decisions that are informed by science and by recommendations made by the governor, our town leaders, and by other authorities that govern our respective faiths and denominations.

We know that in-person, indoor worship is one of the types of gatherings most likely to spread the infection. For this reason, many of our houses of worship have already decided not to gather for indoor, in-person worship this summer.

This does not mean that our synagogues and churches are closed. Every community of faith has found creative ways to stay connected. We all strive to remain spiritually close, even while physically distant.

Each summer, our synagogues and churches look forward to the Westport tradition of worship on Compo Beach. While the governor’s guidelines have made exceptions for houses of worship that might have permitted us to gather, we have collectively decided to suspend Friday evening and Sunday morning worship at Compo.

While disappointed, we came to the conclusion that we cannot reasonably hold an event that is open to the general public and typically draws more than 100 worshipers, while also adhering to state guidelines and our own commitment to keep the community safe.

Instead, several of our congregations are exploring ways to gather outside in safe, physically distant, and more controlled settings this summer.

We invite you to visit our individual websites to find all the opportunities for virtual worship, small group gatherings, outdoor services, and social action opportunities.

With blessings for health, safety, and spiritual connectedness,

The Westport/Weston Clergy Association