It’s almost here—the day so many of us have been waiting for: regathering! Next Sunday, June 28, will be our first Sunday of in-person worship in over three months. Would you please be praying over the next week as we finalize arrangements for regathering?
Let me give you a glimpse of what to expect and how you can help make this a great day of celebration, worship, and praise for all involved. Our number one concern as we regather is for your health in every aspect of life: spiritual, physical, emotional, relational, and mental. Much of what we will outline here, however, will focus on the physical.
First, you can expect a range of emotions—some surprising—as we emerge from these past weeks and look for an elusive sense of the familiar and normal. Some of the expectations you have will be met; some will not; some may be exceeded.
When you drive up the hill to the church, not much will appear different. To the extent you are able, we want to encourage you to put an extra space between cars in the parking lot. If you’re able, consider parking in the lower lot to allow room above for those who can’t walk as far.
Around 10:15am, we will open the doors on both sides of the building: the main entrance on the south side and the opposite entrance on the north (lawn) side.
We want to encourage you to wear a face mask. I know opinion on this is divided even among experts; so here’s my personal view: if there’s a chance you will be protected because I’m wearing a mask, I can live with the slight inconvenience. So I’ll wear a mask except when I’m up front.
When you come in, you’ll be greeted with a smile and an offer of spray hand sanitizer! Please take us up on the offer … just in case! (It will save you a trip to the bathroom to wash your hands right away!) We will not be using printed programs for the time being.
Entering the sanctuary, you’ll notice that the chairs have been separated and scattered into clusters of two to four seats in both the sanctuary and the social halls. Feel free to sit where you like, but this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences when I’ll ask that you not sit with people you don’t know! (Remember, the recommendation from health experts is to maintain physical distancing from anyone outside your own household.)
We have decided to have coffee, water, and individually-wrapped snacks available on the kitchen counter, all cheerfully served to you by a gloved and masked volunteer.
In order to guard the health of our technical team—and because we will continue to livestream in much the same manner we are currently—some of the presentation equipment will be moved to a table outside the sound booth.
This first service back will focus on prayer and reflection about what God has done in each of our lives over the past few months. What have you learned about yourself? …about God? …about His Word? What has been good? Hard? Please think about that over the next week and be prepared to briefly share your story.
Next week we’ll mail you a letter with a reminder about this (and anything else that may change before the 28th). Please feel free to call or email with any questions you have.
Thank you for standing with us through these unique and challenging times.
Yours for the peace, grace, unity, and hope of the good news,
Pastor Randy
Let me give you a glimpse of what to expect and how you can help make this a great day of celebration, worship, and praise for all involved. Our number one concern as we regather is for your health in every aspect of life: spiritual, physical, emotional, relational, and mental. Much of what we will outline here, however, will focus on the physical.
First, you can expect a range of emotions—some surprising—as we emerge from these past weeks and look for an elusive sense of the familiar and normal. Some of the expectations you have will be met; some will not; some may be exceeded.
When you drive up the hill to the church, not much will appear different. To the extent you are able, we want to encourage you to put an extra space between cars in the parking lot. If you’re able, consider parking in the lower lot to allow room above for those who can’t walk as far.
Around 10:15am, we will open the doors on both sides of the building: the main entrance on the south side and the opposite entrance on the north (lawn) side.
We want to encourage you to wear a face mask. I know opinion on this is divided even among experts; so here’s my personal view: if there’s a chance you will be protected because I’m wearing a mask, I can live with the slight inconvenience. So I’ll wear a mask except when I’m up front.
When you come in, you’ll be greeted with a smile and an offer of spray hand sanitizer! Please take us up on the offer … just in case! (It will save you a trip to the bathroom to wash your hands right away!) We will not be using printed programs for the time being.
Entering the sanctuary, you’ll notice that the chairs have been separated and scattered into clusters of two to four seats in both the sanctuary and the social halls. Feel free to sit where you like, but this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences when I’ll ask that you not sit with people you don’t know! (Remember, the recommendation from health experts is to maintain physical distancing from anyone outside your own household.)
We have decided to have coffee, water, and individually-wrapped snacks available on the kitchen counter, all cheerfully served to you by a gloved and masked volunteer.
In order to guard the health of our technical team—and because we will continue to livestream in much the same manner we are currently—some of the presentation equipment will be moved to a table outside the sound booth.
This first service back will focus on prayer and reflection about what God has done in each of our lives over the past few months. What have you learned about yourself? …about God? …about His Word? What has been good? Hard? Please think about that over the next week and be prepared to briefly share your story.
Next week we’ll mail you a letter with a reminder about this (and anything else that may change before the 28th). Please feel free to call or email with any questions you have.
Thank you for standing with us through these unique and challenging times.
Yours for the peace, grace, unity, and hope of the good news,
Pastor Randy