15 March 2021
Friends and Members of Shadow Rock,
We celebrate opening the preschool and resuming in-person gatherings for the church. It was one year ago this month when we closed the campus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our closure was the smartest, safest and most loving response.
We have been watching the numbers, listening to updates from the CDC, and following the science. The metrics informing our decisions are infection rate, positivity rate, ICU occupancy, and percent of people vaccinated. All of this is good news so far. We are also aware that the effects of COVID variants have yet to be seen. However, as of the writing of this letter, all the numbers are going in the right direction.
This is why we are opening up the preschool March 22 and resuming in-person gatherings for the church April 4. We do this but we do it conditionally and with caution. It is imperative that we remain vigilant with wearing masks, washing hands, and social distancing. Also, we will close again if the numbers begin to trend in the wrong direction. With this being said, let us talk about Easter.
On Easter Sunday, April 4, we will have services at 7am, 9am, and 11am. Please make reservations now for April 4 (even if you participated in our recent survey). Your reservation helps us to plan worship. All of our services will have socially distanced seating for attendees and worship leadership. None of our services will have group singing. There will not be coffee chat, but we will offer hospitality with bottled water and perhaps an individually packaged snack.
Our 7am service will be in the Festival Garden. Our 9am and 11am services will be in the sanctuary. Services in the sanctuary will be streamed on YouTube. The 11am service will also have participation available on Zoom. There are several new aspects unfolding here and we ask for everyone’s patience.
We will not have spiritual formation on Easter Sunday, as is our regular practice. Because there are difficulties in implementing safe practices with unstructured groups (especially when children are involved!), we will not have an Easter egg hunt this year. Spiritual formation will resume on April 11 at 10am with participation options in person or via Zoom. Monday night small groups on Zoom will also resume right after Easter, 7pm on April 5. Look for specific topics and resources on Wednesdays in Rock the Week.
Beginning April 11, we will have 9am and 11am services. Again, reservations are requested so we can plan safely. Look for a link every Wednesday in Rock the Week to let us know you're coming. Call any staff person if you have questions or need help.
Thank you for your cooperation and faithfulness in our best efforts.
~Pastor Ken
