NOTICE ABOUT SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP
Dear Family and Friends of Devenger Road ARP,
It is with great joy and anticipation that I am writing to let you know that we will be opening the doors of the church for Corporate Worship on May 17th, 2020! This is a day for which we have all been praying and longing and we are so very excited to gather again in one place so that we might worship our Lord and King.
This decision has been a long time in the making. The Session has been in regular conversation and diligent prayer about the “when” and the “how” of reopening and believes that the 17th is a prudent and faithful timeline for our congregation. God has called his people to worship and we do not want to be unfaithful to that call. God has also called the shepherds of the church to carefully watch over the people of the church. For this reason, the Session believes it is wise to reopen the church in stages, the timing of each stage to be determined and announced as we continue to assess the details of the pandemic and look to the Lord for wisdom.
The first stage is to restart Sunday Morning Corporate Worship only. We will not start Sunday School or Fellowship in the Gathering Place until a little down the road. In addition, we ask that you work with us on practicing the following procedures for your own safety and out of consideration for others.
What we are doing to provide a safe time of worship:
1. There will be door openers at every entrance so that you do not have to open any doors.
2. Every third pew will be open for seating, leaving two pews between each occupied pew. As you sit within each pew, please keep six feet between yourself and anyone who is not family (families, of course, can sit together).
3. There will be no childcare or children’s church, but we encourage you to bring your children to sit in the service with you if you feel comfortable doing so.
4. The ushers collecting tithes and offerings will walk down each row in front of those attending so the plate does not need to be passed.
5. We will continue to Live-Stream the worship service for those who do not feel ready to attend service in person.
What we are asking you to do so that we can all have a safe time of worship:
1. As you arrive, please find your way directly to your seat in the sanctuary and limit any groups or “clumping” in the entryways or hallways.
2. For the bathrooms, please use your elbow or hip to open the door as you go in and use the provided paper towels to open the doors as you exit (trash cans will be by each bathroom door). Please wash your hands thoroughly.
3. As much as we hate to ask this, please do not shake hands or give hugs. Elbows and waves can be a nice way to greet and acknowledge one another.
4. We encourage everyone attending to wear a mask out of consideration of those who may be more vulnerable or those caring for vulnerable individuals.
5. If you are in the at-risk demographic, whether because of age or health complications, or are uncomfortable with gathering, we strongly encourage you to exercise wisdom and caution as you make a decision about attending service.
6. Please bring a small (or large!) bottle of personal hand-sanitizer and use it as frequently as you feel helpful.
In addition to Sunday Morning Service, we will be allowing each Bible Study group to start meeting the week following the 17th if they so decide. We are looking forward to when we begin Sunday School and Fellowship Time but feel it is most wise to wait on starting those back.
We are eager to see all of you and join together in corporate worship! We also want to exercise the utmost prudence in how we reopen. We do this not out of fear, but out of a deep desire to be faithful to care for the people of Devenger Road and our communities. Please pray for the Session and the Diaconate as we seek wisdom from the Lord in the decisions yet to be made. We covet your prayers and we are happy to answer any questions you may have as we head toward May 17th.
The Session of Devenger Road ARP Church