By Jon Roberts – Denver, Colorado … In a Zoom conference on Tuesday, November 10, the administrative committee of the Rocky Mountain Conference convened to discuss the alarming spread of COVID-19 infections and the impact the current surge is having on members and churches.

Committee members are closely monitoring developments across the region as county health leaders are taking precautionary steps to slow the rapid spread of the disease.

In an email to pastors, Eric Nelson, VP of Administration said, “Unfortunately the numbers in Rocky Mountain Conference are increasing alarmingly. We have had a number of staff and pastors who have tested positive or their spouse has been diagnosed with COVID.”

“As a result, we want to take every precaution to ensure the safety of our staff, pastors and churches,” Nelson added.

In Colorado and New Mexico, there are mask mandates and RMC is asking all members to wear face coverings while at church. If you are uneasy with wearing a mask or have a health condition which makes you unable to wear a face covering, please consider joining meetings virtually to protect not only your own health, but also the well-being of your church family.

Currently in Colorado, the majority of our churches are in counties where the Colorado Department of Public Health has declared “Level Orange” restrictions because of the rapid spread of the disease, which limits crowd size to 25% capacity or fifty individuals, whichever is fewer.

RMC is urging all members to remain vigilant as we are facing challenging times in our fight against coronavirus. If you are in a high-risk category or have a compromised immune system, please join worship services online.

“I ask all members to make prayer for all of our pastors, staff, and members who are battling this disease a priority and that God will comfort families who have lost a loved one to this virus,” Ed Barnett, RMC President said. “I look forward to the time when we won’t have to worry about COVID or any other contagious disease.”

–Jon Roberts is RMC communication/media assistant.