Dear Faith Leaders,

Thank you for all of your support in helping keep our community safe from the start of this
pandemic. During this time of year, many of us are looking to reconnect with our faith, family and
friends to restore our spirits. We recognize your unique leadership role and your responsibility to
tend to the needs of your congregations. As our community heads into this important time we are
writing to again ask for your voluntary assistance to keep our community safe, and to help prevent
Austin/Travis County from moving into Stage 5 during the holidays.

Last week we saw a trajectory of COVID-19 cases that raises concerns about community spread,
hospital admissions and ICU capacity. If that rate is sustained, the experts tell us that we will soon
reach a crisis. We are grateful that through careful and strategic planning our hospitals currently
have sufficient space and resources to meet our community’s needs. We need your continued
diligence to prevent reaching a crisis point and urge you to consider taking your holiday services
virtual. We are particularly concerned for the elderly and those whose compromised physical
condition leave them more vulnerable. We are so close to getting the vaccine to these neighbors that
we feel it is especially necessary to urge their protection now to the greatest extent possible.

We understand that for some congregations it may be more challenging than others to move fully
online as this may present financial and digital challenges, but everything we can do to slow down
the spread of this virus matters. If your congregation has the digital capabilities, it would be helpful if
you could once again consider virtual worship. If your congregation does not have that as an option,
we ask that you consider other necessary changes to holiday services to allow for maintenance of
masking and social distancing guidelines. We urge special and renewed discipline and enforcement
of masking, social distancing, and avoiding multiple sustained contacts among those in larger
groups, especially to protect those most vulnerable.

Thank you again for your continued service to keep your congregations and our community safe.
We know that we can make it through this together. We wish each of you a safe and peaceful holiday
season, and a new year filled with hope.

Sincerely,

Andy Brown Steve Adler

Travis County Judge City of Austin Mayor