01940 Fall 2021

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A stained glass depiction of Noah's Ark took on
added poignancy during the pandemic.
drive around the area to place them in
congregants' mailboxes.
"That, more than anything else, kept
everyone together," Bacon said.
Meanwhile, the Bethlehem School, a
Montessori preschool which operates in
the same building as St. Paul's, stayed open
all through the pandemic, with not one
student or staff member getting sick.
For six months, Bacon led services from
his home before the church was able to
install a $12,000 audiovisual system in its
sanctuary; this allowed them to broadcast
directly from the building. With the help
of video, attendance actually increased
during the pandemic, with family of
current and past members who had moved
away tuning in.
Even so, Bacon said that preaching
virtually was not the same.
"Preaching to the camera with no
feedback, it was bizarre," he said. "When
ST. PAUL'S, page 38
Stained glass dove at St. Paul's Episcopal Church
in Lynnfield.
The Rev. Rob Bacon holds a prayer shawl sample.
The Rev. Rob Bacon of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
in Lynnfield said there was a major spike in
hand-knit prayer shawls being made during the
pandemic.
An intricately-woven tapestry at St. Paul's
Episcopal Church.
St. Paul's Episcopal's congregation banded
together during the pandemic.
"We're just going with the flow," said St. Paul's pastor Rob Bacon.