Christ Church Update - May 6, 2020
May 6, 2020
Dear Christ Church Family,
Thank you for your patience and continued partnership in the Gospel through this challenging season. God has been actively at work in our community as we’ve taken advantage of the available means for worship, Bible study, and fellowship. Through the challenges, the Lord has been gracious to our community in innumerable ways, preserving us in body and soul.
Last week, our Governor, Ron DeSantis, issued an executive order that provides guidelines for three phases towards re-opening the state of Florida. These guidelines offered a template for our Session in determining best practices for returning to public worship.
We are delighted to announce that we will hold public worship services this Sunday, May 10, 2020 in our new sanctuary! While it will not be the grand re-opening we envisioned, we are grateful simply to gather to worship God. That said, in compliance with the Governor’s order, our Session has implemented strict guidelines in order to provide a safe environment.
During Phase One, we will gather for worship with social distancing practices implemented. Two services will be held this Sunday at 25% capacity of the maximum occupancy. In our new sanctuary, this means that we will welcome 112 people per service (the maximum occupancy of the sanctuary is 450). In other words, we can very graciously distance members from one another in this environment. There will be an excess of six feet between family units. We are excited to gather with those able to attend to introduce you to our beautiful, fully-renovated sanctuary.
In order for this plan to work, we will need the congregation to comply with the following instructions. Please read carefully!
Members who are over the age of sixty-five, immune compromised, or feeling ill are urged to stay at home. Additionally, those who have been exposed to someone with the virus, traveled internationally within fourteen days of the service, or recently traveled to “hot spots” are asked to refrain from attending. We will continue to offer a virtual service through this phase in order to accommodate those who cannot attend.
Members and regular attenders with last names A-L are invited to attend the 9 AM service; M-Z are invited to the 10:30 AM service. If you need a special accommodation, please contact our Church Administrator, Charlotte Reeves, atadmin@christchurchmandarin.org.
No children’s ministries will be offered with the exception of an outdoor “rolling nursery” for infants (0-1). Our Children’s Ministry Coordinator, Allison Ristau, will be in touch with our families to provide operational details.
Ushers will guide all attenders directly to their seats where bulletins are already dispersed. Family units will be seated together. Please do not sit with anyone outside of your family unit or in a seat where there is no bulletin.
Please arrive early to the service in order to assist us with the seating process. Please access the sanctuary through the front doors. The side doors to the building will not be used.
Services will be roughly 45-50 minutes in duration. There will be no coffee service and no passing of offering plates. Offerings may be deposited in the appointed basket on the way out of the building at the close of the service.
Additionally, it is important for the congregation to observe the following social distancing guidelines for the service.
We ask the congregation to respect one another by observing six feet of distance. Please do not congregate in the Narthex. Ushers will guide attenders from the front doors to seats in the sanctuary. Also, please refrain from all physical greetings (handshakes, hugs, elbow bumps).
Though very tempting, we ask the congregation not to tour the building once inside. We will have an open house on Saturday, May 16, 2020 to allow for socially distanced tours of the facility. We are very eager to introduce you to the entire campus! Please stay tuned for details next week.
Due to concerns surrounding the aerosolization of the virus, the Session asks the congregation NOT to sing. Yes, this is odd, but it is a necessity during Phase One. Per our normal services, we will have excellent music offered to the Lord by our musicians. We encourage you to participate with open ears, meditation, humming, or clapping, if you like. It will be a bit strange, but we are in a strange season. Nonetheless, we plan to make it awesome!
If at all possible, please refrain from use of the bathrooms. However, they are operational for emergency purposes.
At the close of the service, rows will be dismissed in an orderly fashion. Please retreat outside where you will be free to socialize with socially distanced parameters.
Thank you for your attention to these details! There are many restrictions, but it will be worth observing the restrictions to gather together for the worship of God through his Son, Jesus Christ.
Grace and Peace in Jesus Christ,
Chuck Colson
Pastor, Christ Church
Jim Dickenson
Clerk-of-Session, Christ Church
(on behalf of the Session)