Dear Ones,

As of this week, the Washington, DC, area has been in the “Medium Risk” zone according to the COVID Act Now website for two weeks. The plan developed by the Reopening Task Force already has some changes built in for this stage, and the Task Force has clarified some other things based on your questions.
Being firmly in the Medium Risk zone brings these exciting developments:

• Food is allowed at outdoor small group events (up to 25 people). Please stay masked when not actively eating and drinking. This can include gatherings at outdoor dining establishments. Larger groups can also consider serving food; let’s work together on a plan for your large event that takes hygiene and food safety seriously for groups at that scale. 
• Larger outdoor events (e.g. at a park, if the event is too large for WES property) of up to 100 people are allowed. If a volunteer planning team emerges for a WES campout, we can consider scheduling that for August. 
• Member groups can reserve the Main Hall and Social Hall for meetings of up to 25 people. Attendees at indoor meetings should remain masked. We are not ready to serve food and drink safely at indoor meetings. 
• WES will be accepting a wider variety of renters in this stage, so we anticipate that the Main Hall and Social Hall won’t be available at all times. Please make a reservation if you are hoping to use a WES meeting area. 
• Closed groups that met in members’ homes before the pandemic can follow CDC guidelines for private gatherings. This mainly applies to Deepening Circles. For instance, if all members of a closed group are vaccinated and are comfortable doing so, you may meet indoors. Please be mindful of values such as consent and consideration and do not pressure members of these groups to meet without precautions before they are ready. If your group is open to new people without reservation (e.g. discussion groups, program teams), please continue to practice social distancing so that we can remain inclusive. 
• Please stay masked when indoors at WES and practice good hand hygiene.  
• All in-person events should have a sign-in system to facilitate contact tracing.
• Staff may choose to work in the office more often; however, all staff are still permitted to work remotely, so it’s a good idea to call ahead if you need access to the building. 
• We are actively recruiting for the volunteers we will need to add more in-person programs back to the schedule. Please talk to Maceo Thomas (MaceoT@ethicalsociety.org) about being a Greeter, Usher, or Welcome Team member. Please talk to John Pfeifer (techteam@ethicalsociety.org) about joining the Tech Team.

The Reopening Task Force will be meeting next week to do more planning and clarification for the summer. The new CDC guidelines are exciting, but they are mainly aimed at helping healthy, vaccinated adults make individual decisions; the CDC guidelines are not aimed at helping inclusive, multigenerational, values-centered communities maintain their commitments to their mission and to each other. We cannot forget that our community includes unvaccinated children, members with transportation challenges and/or disabilities that require online solutions, and immunocompromised members who appreciate our respect for their lives. Furthermore, while we can enjoy planning a wider variety of in-person outdoor and small-group events, returning to in-person Platform with an expanded component for our long-distance members is a complex task and will require equipment, training, and volunteer recruitment. All of that takes time. 

Thanks again to the staff and volunteers who carried WES’s mission forward over the past 18 months. You made the best of a difficult situation, and you helped bring out the best in everyone who was able to engage with WES during the pandemic. This was incredibly hard work and required creativity, energy, skill-building, and cooperation. These troubled times have helped WES clarify who you want to be as a community. 
We look forward to better times ahead. Gradually, mindfully, and with kindness and consideration, we will move into the future.