Summer 2021 Worship Plans
Dear Friends,
Easter Sunday is now behind us and what a day it was! We were able to worship with 320 different devices at our online worship service and 160 people came to worship together in the parking lot for a second service. It was so beautiful to see you all gathered together in different ways! It was a glimpse of how our worshipping community will work to meet the varied spiritual and worship needs of those that call this place their home church. As we move forward, the goal of our staff and council is to create safe opportunities for you to gather as it best fits into your life and risk tolerance. We understand that each individual, couple, and household must make the decisions that work best for them – all while honoring our wishes to be good public health partners and to keep our neighbors healthy.
By this point, we all understand that the plans we make must be held loosely. We understand that rising infection rates and decisions by our local, state, and national leaders continue to have a bearing on how we are able to gather. With that said, we are still making plans to diversify and expand our worship and ministry opportunities to meet folks where they are at. Below, you will see our plans briefly explained.
Beginning May 2, 2021
8:30 a.m. – Livestream only worship on YouTube
10:00 a.m.– In-person worship in the parking lot or front lawn as weather permits (May 2 – mid-October)
Beginning June 6, 2021
8:30 a.m.– Livestream worship on YouTube and in-person indoor worship at reduced capacity with reservation (more details forthcoming)
10:00 a.m.– In-person worship outside continues
Beginning October 17, 2021
8:30 a.m.– Livestream worship on YouTube with in-person indoor worship at reduced capacity with reservation
10:00 a.m.– Second in-person indoor worship at reduced capacity with reservation
As you can see, we will do our best to meet your needs as it works best for you. Our primary responsibility remains the physical well-being of our worshipping community and those people we encounter in our daily lives. While we are unable to require vaccinations, we will strongly recommend that all our in-person indoor attendees receive their vaccines. At this point, the majority of our staff and volunteers have been vaccinated. It is our goal to have our staff and volunteers fully vaccinated to keep them safe as they serve as worship leaders. We are also aware that worshipping in-person, both indoors or outdoors, for some of our people will not feel like a good option. We have made a rather significant investment in our sound system and cameras in order to continue to live stream our worship as we move forward. Additionally, we recognize that some of our people will be unable to make reservations online and we will have walk-in availability for those in-person indoor services.
As always, we appreciate your flexibility as we continue to navigate our way through these new and challenging times. We are grateful for your commitment to each other and the life that we have together. We are so excited by the things we will be able to do together as we move into these next stages of worship. Please know that we are always available for conversation and feedback regarding these plans.
With Love and Gratitude,
Pastor Tom – on behalf of the church council and staff