Dear Odyssey Church members

On Tuesday last week, our President announced that churches may start publicly meeting again provided the numbers do not exceed 50 people at a time. While we are all longing for the day when normal activities can be practiced again, especially meeting face-to-face, we have decided as a Leadership NOT to resume our meetings just yet. We will continue as an ‘online community’ for now. We are aware that this will be disappointing for some and ask you to exercise patience until the situation in Hout Bay, and Cape Town, takes on a different trajectory. We are still in a Hotspot and nowhere near the peak of infections. There are still so many unknowns about this virus despite new information appearing daily. So, we are going to be reviewing our choices monthly, unless something drastically changes.

Church life, by its nature, is much more interactive and communal than most businesses. We have witnessed situations in other countries (South Korea-Daegu, Germany-Frankfurt, USA-Georgia, Texas and Arkansas) and at home (Bloemfontein), where church meetings have seen a spike of infections occur soon afterwards. One of the difficulties with this virus is that you only need one asymptomatic carrier to cause a rapid spread of infection. “While it’s natural that the elderly or people with disabilities who endure a particular kind of isolation at home will be most eager to return to church life, they are the ones who may suffer the most if churches reopen too quickly” (Sojourners, online article: 8 Questions your Church needs to ask before Reopening).

The Advance churches in the Western Cape have all taken a similar stance around delaying reopening, erring rather on the side of caution. Quoting from another Sojourners article, “Freedom, biblically speaking, is always about the whole community, especially with how we take care of the most vulnerable. Freedom is about how we love one another and take care of one another. We wear masks out of our freedom to care for one another. We stay home because in our freedom we don’t want to get others sick. We don’t reopen our church buildings just yet (goodness, the church never closed to begin with!) because our freedom calls us to take care of not just ourselves, but instead turn toward the greater good of all. We continue to slow down and make wise choices out of our love for freedom.”

Having said all of that, let’s be charitable to those who have a differing opinion and churches who do decide to reopen. Some churches may be safer than our local supermarkets and places of work if they follow all the safety protocols meticulously. We are still looking at what it would mean, and cost, to satisfactorily disinfect everything before and after a meeting. Right now we have a natural enemy in Covid-19 but also an old enemy who is talented at causing division and disharmony. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood” is a good reminder at a time like this. Let’s stay prayerful, “maintain the unity” and walk humbly with our God and one another.

Much love

Craig & Ockie