June 17, 2020
Dear Church Family,
One of the words I have regularly used to describe this season of the Corona Virus is weird. It has been a very weird time for all people. We have seen in-person gatherings come to a complete halt, and at the same time there has been a rise in all things digital. Our church has seen that first hand. In mid March our Board of Ministry made the decision to cancel in person services for the time being, to keep our people and our community safe. At the same time we made the immediate switch to doing online services and activities, which we have received great feedback from. Despite the challenges of so many in this season we have seen God at work as He has blessed our church with continued and new resources, and people from all around our country are hearing the message of Jesus through our church and others.
Digital services have been great, but so many, including myself, are looking forward to the opportunity to meet together in person again. To that end, our Board of Ministry has made the decision to reopen our church on Sunday June 28th for our 10:15 am service. It will be great for us to gather together, but everything will not look the same as did before Corona Virus. We are taking every precaution we can to make sure everyone who enters our building is safe. Here are some of the things you can expect to see to keep others and yourself safe:
- Throughout the building we will be encouraging social distancing. There will be markers on the floor to help us recognize six feet. We want you to interact with each other, but please keep space in mind.
- Everyone is encouraged to wear a face covering. If you don’t have one we will have one available for you.
- Hand sanitizer can be found throughout the building that you can use.
- We will have people wipe down hard services once service has started.
- Exterior and Sanctuary doors will be kept open so that multiple hands do not have to touch them.
- We will not have any bulletins, or written material, to pass out or sign up for.
- Our services will be a little bit shorter than normal.
- We will not pass an offering plate. People are encouraged to use our online giving from our website or to use one of our new boxes found outside of the Sanctuary.
If you are feeling any uneasiness about coming that is perfectly ok. We do not want you to feel pressure to come back if you are at risk or fearful. To help alleviate some of that fear we will continue to do live online services at the same time of our in person services. Our church received a grant to purchase new technology which gives us the ability to do both a live in person and digital service through Facebook. Please feel free to continue watching there.
There is another change you will see that I want to make you aware of. During this season we have been working with a new worship leader, and she will be continuing with us as we reopen. Deena Bates, and her husband Ken, have come on to help us with worship ministry. They both play guitar, and Deena sings, and they have been a great blessing to our church during this season. I personally am very thankful to have them on with us!
As our church reopens we want to do everything we can to keep all who enter our building as safe as possible, while first and foremost sharing the message of Jesus to the city of Columbus and beyond. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact myself, or any of our Board members. We look forward to seeing you in the coming weeks!
Blessings,
Luke Maggard
Senior Pastor