Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“I miss going to church.” Many people have said something like that to me over the last six weeks. There does seem to be good news on the horizon, with many countries in Europe and states in the U.S. announcing plans to open up and loosen restrictions.
On April 17, Governor Abbott issued revised Guidelines for Houses of Worship During the Covid-19 Crisis. They were effective “immediately” and allow churches to open beyond ten persons. The following guidelines are suggested for churches:
•
Providing a “senior service” exclusively for attendees 65 and above to
attend in person. (Sounds like the 8:30 a.m. service to me!)
•
Ask all attendees who have an underlying at-risk health condition to stay
home and watch the services online.
•
Equip ushers and greeters with gloves and masks.
•
Consider keeping child care closed, unless the house of worship can
comply with CDC guidelines for child care facilities.
•
Ensure all attendees sanitize their hands and put on a mask before entering
the building.
•
Ensure attendees sit with their family unit, use social distancing between
each unit.
•
Provide a central collection box in the building or encourage online giving.
•
Clergy should dismiss attendees so as to maintain social distancing.
•
Staff should sanitize seats and frequently touched surfaces between
services.
•
Consider how the sacraments can be administered without attendees
having to touch the same surfaces and objects.
Therefore, we will resume offering both the 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. worship services again on Sunday, May 3
rd
. Sanitizer and masks will be available. We
highly recommend
that you not come to church if you in a
high-risk category
, or just don’t feel safe attending. We will continue to “stream” the 10:45 a.m. service each week. In an effort to be safe, we will only offer the bread for Holy Communion.
We will not resume Saturday services immediately
.
As we slowly transition back to regular services, we will
not be having coffee hour or Sunday School for children yet
. We will offer nursery care and will follow CDC guidelines, which we are doing during the week in our daycare. Older children can sit together with their families until we are able to have Sunday School again.
We continue to pray for an end of the pandemic, for first responders, and for those who are unemployed.
May our Risen Lord fill you with His Joy, Peace and Hope,
Bill Cobb+
