Greeting Berean Members and Friends,
Recently there has been a lot in the news regarding church reopenings. We want to let you know
that discussions have been held with the Pastor and members of the diaconate
as well as consideration of recommendations from Rev. Tom Wiles, the Executive Minister of ABCORI.
Given consideration of the restrictions currently placed on churches reopening, we feel that
reopening Berean should be delayed for at least an additional 4-6 weeks.
Some of the reasons for the delayed opening include, but are not limited to:
• Rev. Tom Wiles has advised that neither ABCORI nor other Protestant churches within the state of RI
think that it is in our best interest to open at this time.
• A fair proportion of our congregation are in a higher risk age related category. (And currently churches
are limited to no more than 25% of maximum capacity.)
• The online Berean service has been popular and well attended. Pastor Darin and Emma are happy to
continue the online worship form for the present. (We also plan to continue online services
once Berean reopens.)
We plan to continue reassessing our potential reopening, while following mandated State of RI reopening guidelines
nd the evolving CDC guidelines. We are all looking forward to the day that we can join together safely in worship.
We will continue to work hard to make sure that day comes as soon as safely possible.
Thank you for your continuing care and support.
Pastor Darin, Moderator and House
Recently there has been a lot in the news regarding church reopenings. We want to let you know
that discussions have been held with the Pastor and members of the diaconate
as well as consideration of recommendations from Rev. Tom Wiles, the Executive Minister of ABCORI.
Given consideration of the restrictions currently placed on churches reopening, we feel that
reopening Berean should be delayed for at least an additional 4-6 weeks.
Some of the reasons for the delayed opening include, but are not limited to:
• Rev. Tom Wiles has advised that neither ABCORI nor other Protestant churches within the state of RI
think that it is in our best interest to open at this time.
• A fair proportion of our congregation are in a higher risk age related category. (And currently churches
are limited to no more than 25% of maximum capacity.)
• The online Berean service has been popular and well attended. Pastor Darin and Emma are happy to
continue the online worship form for the present. (We also plan to continue online services
once Berean reopens.)
We plan to continue reassessing our potential reopening, while following mandated State of RI reopening guidelines
nd the evolving CDC guidelines. We are all looking forward to the day that we can join together safely in worship.
We will continue to work hard to make sure that day comes as soon as safely possible.
Thank you for your continuing care and support.
Pastor Darin, Moderator and House