Guidelines for Keeping Social Distancing In Worship

  • If you have a cough, or a recent fever, please do not come to church.
  • If you have been around someone with a cough or recent fever, please do not come to church.
  • You may feel free to wear a mask if you would like. If you do or don’t wear a mask, please do not touch your face.
  • Please use hand sanitizer or wash your hands upon entering the building and prior to leaving the service.
  • Please do not congregate before or after the service. If you do converse with others, keep the requested 6 feet distance between you.
  • Please do not touch, shake hands, or hug each other. We are recommending the ancient tradition of bowing to one another instead of reaching out a hand to shake.
  • Please keep your distance (six feet) from one another upon entering and leaving the service as well as during the communion service. (See below.)
  • Please sit with members of your household only.
  • Please keep an empty row between you and the people in front of you.
  • Please stagger the seating of the end of the rows in the section in which you are sitting so you are on the opposite end of the people in front of you and you are not sitting close to people across the aisle.

Service Guidelines

  • There will be an extra effort prior to the service of wiping off areas of “touch” with disinfectant.
  • Emphasis: Our seating needs to be every other row and in a zig-zag format with only households sitting together beginning at the opposite end of the row of the row (which will be two rows ahead of you. That is - if they begin on the left of your section, then you begin on the right two rows back.) One of our ushers or deacons will be assisting with the seating.
  • We will not be using Powerpoint on the screen, rather the words will be found in the bulletin.
  • Please sing out in our congregational singing as we’ll be spread out even more than we usually are, so it’ll be hard to hear the people near you.

Communion will be conducted as follows:

  • Pastor Bob will open communion then invite participants to come forward to receive (2 cups) - the cup with the bread and the cup with wine/grape juice which will be handed to each participant by an elder who will be wearing gloves as you pass by.
  • Please wait for Pastor Bob to call out your row to avoid congregating at the front of the sanctuary.
  • Please return to your seat with your two cups and await the continuation of the communion service.
  • Once everyone has been served the two cups, Pastor Bob will continue the communion service.

Giving

  • There will be no collection of tithes and offerings via the passing of the offering plates, rather there will be an offering box in the back of the sanctuary where you can place your offering.
  • Please review and practice the social distancing guidelines above.
  • Please consider contacting people you notice who are not there to encourage them. We’ll be continuing the active order of worship during this transition time for those whose consciences keep them away. A word of encouragement to let them know that they may have been out of sight in our worship service but not out of mind would be most appropriate.