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Thanksgiving gratitude and encouragement

November 25, 2020

Help us keep up protocols over break

Dear Concordia Students,

We have arrived at Thanksgiving Break. This achievement—safely maintaining excellent campus instruction in person and on ground during the pandemic—is significant. I am grateful for the dedicated, patient, selfless engagement of thousands of Concordia University students, faculty, and staff throughout this semester.

I also pray daily for the health and well-being of our Concordia community, of which you are an important extended part. COVID-19 continues to impact and harm households and communities, quite possibly yours. May God protect, sustain, and restore you.

As of today, most residential students are home for the holiday. Our graduate and commuter students, too are off for this much needed and hard earned break. Many students have elected to complete their courses virtually and will remain off campus now through the end of the fall term. Some will return to the residence halls next week for a final two weeks of on-ground experience. Together, our Concordia community will finish the semester strong.

We sent the first all campus message about the novel coronavirus in late January, 2020. Since then, Concordians have communicated thousands of words, made (and adjusted) dozens and dozens of plans, and invested hundreds, even thousands, of hours of effort in Concordia University’s COVID Conscious response. Now, as students return for the Thanksgiving break, we have one more message for you, parents and families.

We need your help.

The CDC and our local and state public health experts are clear that without cautious behavior choices, COVID-19 will spread via holiday travel and holiday gatherings. To ensure Concordia University achieves a healthy finish in the final weeks of the term, we invite all students (and those in their households) to continue to choose to perform the following wellness behaviors during the Thanksgiving holiday:

  1. Continue to practice COVID Conscious behaviors over the break, whether you remain on campus or visit loved ones.
  2. Wear facial masks whenever possible, especially around those not from your immediate household.
  3. Wash your hands.
  4. Minimize group interactions, including informal group gatherings in your homes. The choices we make impact the health and well-being of our families and friends, our campuses and our local communities.

Questions and information

During the break and for the remainder of the semester, we encourage you to continue to stay up-to-date on our website (access COVID-19 campus updates from the home page), through university social media, and certainly through direct communication with us.

We Are Concordia; hearts together. In this season of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for our students. I am grateful for the care our administrators, faculty, and staff take to address so many critical issues. I am grateful for those working tirelessly to keep our University moving forward, serving students in mind, body, and spirit, and equipping each student to live with uncommon purpose.

Most significantly, I am grateful to our loving God. Certainly, this is an unprecedented time for all of us. Not so for Him. His eternal presence is with us; and every hardship is won for us in Christ. It remains my prayer that you are daily strengthened in faith.

In Christ’s Service and Yours,

Rev. Patrick T. Ferry, Ph.D.
President

Categories: Students