COVID -19 PHASE 1: Re-Opening Plan
|
|
|
|
May 29, 2020
Hello West County, I pray all of you are safe and well. I want to take just a few minutes to give you an update on our plan to reopen for Sunday morning worship services, or what I’ll call phase one of our reopening. So, to be clear, what I’m about to talk about applies only to Sunday morning worship services, not Sunday School, Wednesday night programs, or the use of the building during the week. Those will all be addressed as phase two of our reopening in a subsequent communication. As it stands now, we’re tentatively planning to reopen for Sunday morning worship services on June 21st. I say tentatively because as I’ve said before, we’ll make decisions about how to handle church services based on the latest and best information available to us. If that information changes, we’ll change with it. With that said, we’re really excited to be able to worship together again. I’m sure most of you are aware of a number of different churches and their plans for reopening. If you are, you know that we’re neither among the first, nor among the last, to reopen. In short, we want to be cautious without being fearful and we feel like reopening for worship services on June 21st meets both criteria. Reopening on the 21st will give us enough time to evaluate the effects of the eased Coronavirus restrictions in St. Louis County and make sure it is safe to meet. So what does it look like for us to reopen? We’ll provide more details as June 21st approaches, but let me give you a rough idea of how we’re going to handle it. St. Louis County guidelines for how many people can meet in a church are based on the occupancy of their building. Because we have a disproportionately large campus, we feel confident that we can safely handle the number of people who will come. Rather than offer multiple services and require that people sign up, we’re going to have a live service in the sanctuary that we will stream into other rooms on our campus, such as the chapel, gym, and if need be, the two dining rooms. So, we plan to have volunteers outside the main foyer who will count the number of people who come in for the sanctuary service. When we reach capacity in the sanctuary, we’ll send people to the other rooms where we’ll stream the service and they will be able to enjoy it with others in the church. Each of those rooms will also have volunteers who will count the number of people who come into that room in order to make sure we’re within the guidelines set by St. Louis County. The other advantage of doing it that way is that each of those rooms have separate entrances and restroom facilities, so we won’t have to funnel a lot of people into small areas like entrances and restrooms. Most of the other guidelines, which will be spelled out in more detail as the time approaches, will be very similar to what all of us have become accustomed to with a few small differences. In particular, let me ask you to note the following: because we won’t have children’s church, children will need to stay with their parents at all times. For families that live in the same house, we won’t require social distancing. So, for instance, I would not need to socially distance myself from Keri or the rest of my family—we would be welcome to sit together. Like nearly every other business or organization, we’re asking everyone who comes to wear a mask. I understand that not everyone thinks masks are necessary. However, I am asking everyone to be considerate of the health and peace of mind of their brothers and sisters in Christ. All of the other guidelines will be spelled out in more detail as the time approaches, but I wanted to give you an idea of what June 21st will look like. In all of this, we’re grateful for God’s provision and looking forward to gathering together again with all of you. Until then, we encourage you to continue to join us for the streamed services and pay attention to upcoming announcements about reopening. Please be in prayer for the church, just as we are in prayer for you. Blessings and Peace, |
June 19, 2020
Hello West County, By now I’m hope you’re aware that we’re reopening the church this Sunday, June 21st. We’ve been making preparations and are really excited to see everyone who will be here. Before I give you an idea of what to expect if you show up for service on Sunday, let me mention just a couple of things. One, please don’t feel any pressure to come on Sunday if you’re at all nervous, whether because you’re in a higher risk category, or because you’re just uncomfortable. We’re still going to stream the service, so you can still join us for the service. Two, please be considerate of others and don’t come if you’ve had any of the symptoms of covid-19: a fever, a new or worsening cough, trouble breathing, loss of sense of taste or smell, new or worsening body aches, or a sore throat. If you do plan to show up on Sunday, here’s a few things to keep in mind. We will do our best to honor the guidelines put in place by St. Louis County and to use common sense in matters that aren’t precisely defined. The main entrance of the church will be the only entrance and exit we will use. You’ll be greeted by our welcome team and counted as you enter. We’re asking you to maintain a safe distance and wear a mask. There will be ushers available to help you find a seat in the sanctuary, where we’ve blocked off every other pew to help keep people spread out as much as possible. If the sanctuary reaches maximum capacity, the ushers will direct the remaining people to the gym to watch the live stream together there. We’re asking families with children to stay together at all times. We’re also asking you not to bring containers, bags, or boxes into the facility. If you want to give something to someone, we ask that you do that in the parking lot. There will be hand sanitizers placed throughout the building. Other than the sanctuary, foyer, and the gym if needed, the rest of the church will be closed. We will not have nursery, Sunday School, or children’s church. We will not have prayer at the altars with the elders, but a pastor or elder would be happy to pray for you in the foyer if you need it. We will receive the offering after the service with baskets in the center aisle and the aisles to the right and left of it. When the service is done, we ask you to exit and be aware of social distancing. If it’s a nice day, we encourage you to talk outside. We want everyone who comes to have a safe and pleasant experience and we trust these precautions will help make that a reality. Whether we see you in person on Sunday, or you see us in your home, we’re looking forward to worshiping the Lord together. Blessings and Peace, Jared Stoner WCAG Lead Pastor |
Jared Stoner
WCAG Lead Pastor
WCAG Lead Pastor
