Logistic responses included some or all of the following strategies:

• acknowledgement and/or assurance
• prevention steps
• cancellation
• postponing
• relocation
• accommodating
• adjusting
• contact & availability
• outreach

Acknowledgement and/or Assurance

Most communications began and/or ended with a statement acknowledging the situation and assuring members that leaders were following events and updates.

Your pastors and staff want to reassure you that we are following the emerging situation closely and working to protect our community. We are also considering how we can continue to be church together as the coronavirus situation changes. (Seattle First Baptist Church, 3/5/2020)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been carefully monitoring these developments and is taking steps in several areas to provide assistance, help missionaries be safe and effective, address concerns regarding member safety and plan for upcoming events. (LDS Church, 3/3/2020)

With an increasing focus on the coronavirus around the world, we wanted to assure you that we continue to monitor the situation. (Father Maurice, Saint Therese, 3/5/2020)

Seattle Public Health is expected to issue guidelines for faith-based communities and when they do, we will take their recommendations into consideration as we make our long term plans. The elders have been in discussion concerning this matter and this coming Tuesday we will be meeting to address this issue in greater detail. (Pastor Swanson, Faith Bible Church, 3/6/2020)

Prevention Steps

Preventative responses include both personal and institutional recommendations or strategies. For example, a person should often wash their hands with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds and stay home if they are sick. An institution should provide hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol in common areas and have servers use tongs if providing food. These preventative measures usually appear in list format by numbers or bullets and directly or closely reflect official CDC or WHO guidelines. They are often communicated as "steps" to be taken. Some organizations introduced these guidelines as "simple," "common sense," or "reminders."

If you are experiencing any symptoms of a cold or flu or have been in close contact with someone who is, we ask that you refrain from attending service until symptoms resolve. Being sensitive to the health risks of those around us shows that we care. Sometimes being God's hands and feet in the world means parking your hands and feet on the couch at home! (Ballard Church, 3/6/2020) 

There’s a sign in the staff kitchen that says, “Wash your hands and say your prayers, because Jesus and germs are everywhere.” We ask each of you to stay safe, calm, and compassionate in this stressful time.  (Amy, Catherine, Todd, and Kyna, University Congregational United Church of Christ, 3/5/2020)

Cancellation

Some events were cancelled. Originally, many groups canceled some or all activities except their main weekly worship or prayer gathering. This included restricted hours or closures for the Hindu temples. Specifically, others left the decision for home or study groups to group leaders' discretion.

We regret to announce that at the recommendation of our bishop and King County, Sunday worship at Tibbetts is suspended until further notice due to the coronavirus. (Tibbetts United Methodist Church, 3/6/2020)

It's official. NewHopeDeaf does NOT meet March 15th. The hearing church is closing all their buildings through March. What will we do? We're working on it, and will let you know. (New Hope Deaf Church, 3/12/2020)

Postponing

Cancellation being more final, some groups assured their members that their events would take place at a later date. For example:

Rest assured that canceling this Shabbat's activities doesn't mean that our Purim Celebrations are altogether canceled. Far from it! They are merely postponed. As of right now we are rescheduling our Purim Shabbat for March 20th. And if we have to cancel that one, we will push our Purim to the next Shabbat. Some people have "Christmas in July," and we're not afraid to have "Purim in June"? (Rabbi Olivier, Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue, 3/5/2020)

MAPS-MCRC has decided to postpone its upcoming Golden Times event for seniors. New dates will be announced later. (Muslim Association of Puget Sound, 3/6/2020)

Our Lenten Friday services will also be postponed until further notice. This decision was not made lightly, but with much prayer, deliberation, and no small measure of disappointment. We feel that this was the best choice to protect vulnerable members of our church, and to help our community limit the spread of coronavirus. (Rainier Avenue Church, 3/11/2020)

Relocation

Some organizations that meet in community spaces were not able to access their normal gathering locations and made arrangements for alternative space. This became particularly important on 3/11/2020 when Gov. Inslee restricted groups of more than 250 from gathering.

We are not cancelling our Sunday services, but we've just been told by the Bellevue School District that as a community group we will not be allowed to use Phantom Lake Elementary this weekend. We've moved our 8:30am and 10:30am worship services for this Sunday only March 8 to the Lighthouse Center at Lake Hills Village. (Lighthouse Church newsletter, 3/6/2020)

We’ve always been innovative, creative, and tried to think outside the box. So, we’re doing Drive-In Church. What I mean is, we’re literally setting up a stage on our roof for worship and speaking. We have an FM transmitter tuned to 107.1. We’ll have parking attendants helping you park at each gathering time for a 35ish minute service. Drive up, park, tune in, and be encouraged together! (Pastor Nik, Grove Church, 3/11/2020)

For the next three weeks, we will be gathering in houses around the city at 10AM for church. Join a house church near you for worship, prayer and finding courage in Christ as we look at Romans 8 together and respond as the church. (Mosaic Church, 3/11/2020)

Shifting Online

The "relocation" responses refer to physical meeting space, but they're similar to the "shift" online that other organizations chose. Shifting assumes movement, which conceptualizes online options as digital space. Terms such as "gather" and "meet" were often used in close proximity and connection to "shifting online." Some example platforms or strategies include:

• Zoom video conference
• Facebook livestream
• Google hangouts
• organizational apps
• recording and posting files to an organization website

As we all know, we are living through an extraordinary time. KHN is innovating to meet the challenge of the day. We invite KHN members to join the Rabbi for a virtual Havdalah gathering via Zoom. We will connect with one another, share some of our experiences of this new, temporary reality, and learn a little Torah to lift our spirits. Let's bring this Shabbat to a close together with a virtual Havdalah! (Kol HaNeshamah, 3/10/2020)

We are also wanting to honor the precautions the state is asking us to take. To that end, this Sunday, March 8, we will host the 9am Sanctuary service and 9:45am Modern service online via Livestream and highly encourage you to watch from home. (Pastor Scott Dudley, Bellevue Presbyterian Church, 3/6/2020)

To help control this problem, we feel it wise to limit attendance at the upcoming April 2020 General Conference. We plan to conduct all five sessions of that conference at the Conference Center. General authorities, general officers and their spouses, musicians, choirs, technicians, and others will participate as assigned. But, proceedings of the conference will be distributed throughout the world via technology only. The public will not be admitted in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, or in stake centers or meetinghouses in areas where contagion is a concern. (LDS Church, 3/11/2020)*

*Please note that LDS updates/directives were from a global response statement in which the Seattle areas (Bothell Stake and Seattle Temple) were listed.

Practicing at Home

Some groups encouraged their members to practice at home.

Take this opportunity to celebrate Shabbat in the warmth of your own home. (Rabbi Olivier, Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue, 3/5/2020)

This would be a sufficient excuse to pray jumuah at home (as dhuhr) until the restriction is removed. (Hyder Ali, MAPS, 3/5/2020)

Parents please pastor your children these next two weeks. (New Life Fellowship, 3/6/2020)

Let me encourage you to receive communion at home - especially over a meal as we read about in Scripture. (Pastor Ben Dixon, Northwest Church)

Accommodating

Accommodations mean offering an alternative option for individuals that is different from the group. For example:

We will be providing an additional communion option, for those uncomfortable sharing in the common bread and cup. (Pastor Adam Sinnett, Downtown Cornerstone Church, 3/3/2020) 

We are working with students who are scheduled to become B'nai Mitzvah in the weeks ahead. We are in communication with their families to help celebrate this wonderful simcha as best meets their needs. (Temple Beth Am, 3/5/2020)

Adjusting

Adjustments are changes for the group as a whole. One common adjustment was during greeting times or "passing of peace," when most organizations notified members they would be using smiles, verbal greetings, bowing, fist bumps, or elbow taps instead of handshakes. 

Offering plate: will not be passed; a stationary placement of the offering place with be available for discreet giving during prayer time or after worship. (Bethany Presbyterian 3/6/2020)

Until we know more, I am requesting that when possible, and if at all possible, water in the [baptismal] fonts be drained, and that the practice of dipping the hands in the water of a font be discontinued. (Bishop Greg, Episcopal Diocese, 3/3/2020)

For the Episcopal Diocese, what was originally an accommodation for optional communion "of one kind" (bread only) became an adjustment when the "common cup" was restricted.

Contact & Availability

Some groups recommended and specified that their staff work from a distance when possible. They also listed contact information with directions/invitations for communicating with staff for a variety of reasons.

As always, our clergy are available for life cycle emergencies or pastoral care. (Temple Beth Am, 3/5/2020)

Office Managers - call devotee 2 days before service date and request in writing that they would like pooja services conducted by HTCC priest. (Mani Vadari, Hindu Temple and Cultural Center, 3/4/2020)

Food Runs: If you fall into the high-risk category and have been unable to leave your home, please text us to let us know that you need food assistance and we'd love to come and drop off some groceries. (New Life Fellowship, 3/6/2020)

Outreach

• We are streamlining our live web services to reach more people for Jesus
• We are reaching out to support the Northshore School District to build support
• We are reaching out to our senior citizen community in our church and community
• We are contacting local food banks to help serve

(New Life Church, 3/6/2020)

While we avoid gathering physically in groups, we can continue to live our Jewish values by taking care, not only of ourselves and our families, but also our neighbors and friends. Touch base with loved ones by phone, text, email or Skype. Write an old-fashioned note to a friend or relative. Take time to study one of our sacred texts, or enjoy a more modern Jewish book or film at home. Help out a congregant who doesn’t know how to stream services with some personal “tech support.” (De Hirsch Sinai Temple, 3/5/2020)

Each of us must care for one another during this time by checking in on those of advanced age, disabled, or immune-compromised by telephone or written correspondence. Be willing to run errands for those unable to go out during this time while taking care to not pass on infection. (Rev. Dr. Kelle J. Brown, Plymouth United Church of Christ, 3/5/2020)

Pray, too, that we do not duck from the ways that God shows us how to love our neighbor during this time. (James B and Renee, Union Church Seattle, 3/5/2020)