Bishop Scott Mayer has eased COVID-19 restrictions for churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Northwest Texas.

Masks will still be required for indoor worship social distancing requirements will be lifted. The diocese issued the following statements, with changes effective Sunday, May 16:

After more than a year of living with COVID-19, we may finally be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. While we continue to pray for those whose lives have been dramatically affected by COVID-19 and those who continue to battle the virus in other parts of the world, I am encouraged by the declining positivity and hospitalization rates throughout our diocese. The numbers are moving steadily in the right direction as more people are vaccinated. This means we can begin to loosen some of the COVID-19 guidelines we put in place earlier.  Considering the most recent recommendations by the Center for Disease Control, I am lifting all social distancing requirements as of Sunday, May 16, 2021. Masks will continue to be required for all indoor worship services, and we will still offer communion in one kind. Small groups of fully vaccinated people may gather indoors without masks. Masks are not required for outdoor events, unless three-feet separation cannot be maintained. When this pandemic began, I called you to love your neighbors by instituting our diocesan COVID-19 guidelines within our churches, and you did just that. Thank you for doing your part to control the spread of this virus through your many acts of sacrificial love. You truly demonstrated what it means to love your neighbors, and I know that love will continue. As the pandemic wanes in our part of the world, let us remember that the pandemic continues to rage elsewhere. Our many thoughts and prayers are with those who continue to suffer because of this deadly virus.