Dear Trinity family,

If you’ve been following the news, we know you’re as distressed as we are to read about the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In the past week, the City of Austin has announced the cancellation of the SXSW festival, and universities across the United States are switching to virtual classes and encouraging their students to remain at home after spring break. Many organizations are limiting or cancelling group gatherings in order to protect the most vulnerable members of the community. The United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church have issued recommendations that all churches suspend in-house worship services but try to continue worship virtually. These strategies will help to slow the spread of the virus so that hospitals are not overwhelmed by large numbers of people becoming seriously ill at the same time.

We have decided to protect our community and the public health by temporarily closing our doors for worship. We will be offering virtual worship services beginning this Sunday 3/15 at 11:00am.

Our virtual worship service this Sunday at 11:00am will be shortened and simplified so that we can include information about our response to COVID-19. We will be sharing some of our ideas for maintaining community and connection while practicing social distancing. It will be broadcast via YouTube (it’ll be rough the first time, but we will improve!). We pray that the need to suspend in-person worship will be relatively brief.

– Join us virtually at 11:00am on Sundays at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ9CvGQbNIy1nj4UNTrZ8YA

– Text your prayers during the service to (512) 766-3123 (include your name if you wish)

– Donate online via mobile device or desktop computer

We know that this situation is painful for everyone. Trinity Church of Austin is a safe haven and an important source of social connection for many of us, and some of us may feel isolated and lonely during the weeks that our doors remain closed. Additionally, the cancellation of SXSW has created difficult financial circumstances for many in our city, and social distancing will increase the strain on individuals, businesses, and organizations, including Trinity.

We hope that the Trinity community will respond to this ordeal by drawing closer together. We will be sharing resources for mutual support during the coming weeks by e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and our website at www.trinitychurchofaustin.org.

In order to protect those who are particularly vulnerable to the virus, we urge you to practice social distancing and simply stay home as much as possible. We are holding those who are providing essential services during this time in our hearts.

All in-person Trinity events are postponed until local, state, and federal authorities have advised that it is safe to meet.

For more information about protecting yourself from the virus, we recommend the CDC website. For those experiencing food insecurity, Hope Food Pantry will continue to operate out of the Trinity building.

Stay safe and healthy!

—Sid Hall, Lead Minister & Jimmy Alan Hall, Leadership Council