Church of the Good Shepherd reopened for in-person worship in mid-June 2020, and Saint James Episcopal School successfully opened for in-person learning on August 19, 2020. As I continue to look back on what it took to reopen in the ways each entity did I realize and applaud the tremendous efforts of the church and school staffs, the vestry, administration, faculty, boards, parishioners, and friends in discerning, designing, and implementing ways for people and students to gather safely to continue learning and sharing Christ during the ongoing worldwide pandemic.

After Rally Day on Sunday, September 13, 2020, Church of the Good Shepherd planned more offerings for worship and formation in accordance with The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas’s plans for the Phased Reopening of Churches. We worked hard to implement best practices, guidelines, and procedures for all that we do in order to create as safe an environment as we are able for our three Sunday Services of Worship, Childcare, Children’s Chapel, Sunday School for all ages, Youth Group, Wednesday Healing Service, and Tuesday and Wednesday Bible Studies.

We are committed to our hard work now more than ever and celebrate taking the ‘next right steps’ in our phased reopening as they have and continue to come.

Due to my commitments with Church of the Good Shepherd, Saint James Episcopal School, and in my own family, my last day recording Daily Morning Prayer for this website was Friday, September 11, 2020.

Joining y’all in Daily Morning Prayer via this website was both a bright spot in my day and a labor of love throughout many months of worldwide anxiety. I continue to be extraordinarily thankful your prayerful presence through this season, and please know that I’ll still be praying every morning with you (just not recording it).

This website will remain here for you to contact me should you have questions or run into problems in your prayer lives, and should we need to revert back to how things have been I, too, will plan to return here to pray with you.

His Peace,

William+