Dear WES Community, 

As the contours of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shift, so too will our approach to community safety and care for one another’s health. Mindful of changing conditions and public health guidelines, the Reopening Taskforce and the Staff met recently to consider any necessary shifts in policy and expectation here at WES. We continue to operate with an abundance of caution, and a belief that our shared values call us to a greater level of community care than is often standard in our society. 

Beginning on Sunday, October 2nd there will be some minor shifts in our official policy. Masking will remain mandatory, but a couple other measures will be changed.

First, we will no longer be checking vaccination cards. Our expectation remains that community members and invited guests who are able to be vaccinated will be up-to-date on their vaccines, but, having already confirmed a very high level of vaccination in the WES community and being aware of high levels of vaccination in the DMV area, will move toward trusting that those who can be vaccinated in fact are. 

Secondly, rather than requiring pre-registration for platform, you will be able to check-in at the door. Continuing to have everyone in person checked in allows us to do meaningful contact tracing and inform people who were present should there be a potential exposure. To make check-in easier and as smooth as possible, there will be a QR code at the door which you will simply scan with your phone’s camera to get to the check-in form. The form will ask for your name and email address along with a couple quick medical screening questions, similar to those you’ve been answering for pre-registration. If you do not have a smartphone, are uncomfortable with the technology, or just need a hand figuring it out you can talk to a greeter who can help you with the QR code or get you signed in on paper.

In addition to no longer requiring pre-registration, we will no longer be limiting the number of attendees at platform on Sundays. If we get to a place where we’re feeling crowded in the hall, that will be a wonderful problem which we will find a solution for when we get there.

So come to platform on Sunday! We’d love to see you in person. Bring your mask and your smartphone if you have one, and be ready to greet friends old and new!

Warmly,

KC