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Anglican Diocese of Calgary cancels church service in Medicine Hat, Redcliff amid COVID-19 concerns

Mar 14, 2020 | 7:48 PM

MEDICINE HAT- Church services within the Anglican Diocese of Calgary, are canceled until March 31.

The cancellations include church services at St. Ambrose Anglican Church in Redcliff, and church services at All Saints and Saint Barnabas Anglican Church in Medicine Hat.

In a letter posted to their website, Rev’d Leighton Lee notes that the cancellations are due to the growing number of COVID -19 cases in the province.

“Please understand that this decision hasn’t been arrived at lightly. But given the fact that as of this writing, the number of cases in Alberta has gone from 29 to 39 and that many members of our congregations are part of the vulnerable sector, the only prudent response is to suspend services of worship. We have a duty to protect them. What’s more, we have a duty to be part of the effort to flatten the curve in the hopes that we can stop this virus from gaining a terrible foothold here as it has done in other places.”

Lee stressed the importance of prayer and urged his members to still connect with god on Sunday through live-streamed services.

On Thursday, Alberta’s chief medical officer recommended shutting down large gatherings of 250 people or more, but places of worship were excluded from the recommendation.

The Anglican Diocese of Calgary consists of 71 active parishes in southern Alberta and has roughly 10,000 members, according to its website.

A full look at the letter can be found here.