1. Everyone who joins us for worship on Sunday at 10am (or at the 8:30am service in July and August) must sign-in with name and phone number in case of the unfortunate situation where we have to do contact-tracing.
2. The use of masks (covering nose and mouth) and social distancing (3-6 ft) will continue to be enforced inside the church building. Our pews will continue to be marked off with every other pew available for seating. 3. Singing will be led, through the end of June, by a soloist. The congregation is encouraged to sing loudly in their hearts and very quietly with their lips (or hum). In July and August, the congregation will be invited to sing the hymns (1-2 verses only) and a few masked choir members may be in the choir loft helping to lead the hymns. 4. Fellowship will happen between the two services from 9:15am to 9:45am, with pre-packaged refreshments. Please refrain from fellowship in the sanctuary or narthex after worship. 5. A plate will not be passed for offering but baskets will be available for giving pledges/offering on your way in or out of the church on Sunday morning. Online giving is available through the church website. 6. Pew bibles and hymnals may now be used during worship. Having received wise guidance from the Ecumenical Consultation on Protocols for Worship, Fellowship and Sacraments, the Session's reasoning for masks and social distancing for all who come to in-person worship is this: The latest CDC guidance for masks and social distancing is for what INDIVIDUALS CAN do-- not what CONGREGATIONS (in which both vaccinated and unvaccinated people gather together) SHOULD do. As a Session we are committed BOTH to CDC guidance AND to the principle that we will not cause stigma about either illness or vaccination status. We encourage compassion for all who are sick and vaccination, at the soonest time possible, for all who are unvaccinated. Our congregation and those visiting in worship includes people who are unvaccinated, including children, older persons who have not yet been able to be vaccinated, and some who have refused vaccination. Unvaccinated people of any age can get the virus and spread it to others who are unvaccinated. Therefore, when we are among those who may be unvaccinated, we will be as the unvaccinated for the sake of the unvaccinated-- for their safety, and to avoid stigmatizing them. We are one body in Christ, no more protected than the least protected among us. |