Letter to Congregation 06-03-2020
June 3, 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we hear about the many disturbing events that have occurred in these last two weeks it is seems hard to make sense of it all let alone feel joy. This week’s sermon will touch on how we are to approach these times according to God’s call on our lives. To hopefully bring some joy to some of you I share the plan the session worked hard to come up with for phase 1 of our reopening that will begin this Sunday June 7th. First, let me say we will have live worship, but it will not be immediately the same as before. We will be continuing to live stream and record services for those who wish not to join in-person worship or who are unable to.
Phase 1 of the re-opening will occur as follows. We will allow approximately 20 people to join the worship in the sanctuary. This will ensure we remain under the 25 in a room as suggested in the yellow phase. We will prioritize the sanctuary to congregants who have had no access to services or who have been only able to attend our parking lot services. We will also have the lounge and fellowship hall set up with streaming technology that will allow those who wish to attend to watch the service live in those rooms. To have worship be a possibility the following guidelines will be implemented.
• We ask that you wear a mask to enter and exit building and keep it on when leaving your seat for any reason. (if you need a mask contact the church and we can get you one)
• Please always practice social distancing of 6ft apart. There will be volunteers and markers to help assist in keeping our distances. Families can remain together in line and in their seats.
• We will be dismissing in an orderly fashion which will be directed by a volunteer for each room.
• Offering is a drop off style where baskets or offering plates will be available upon exiting.
• When entering the building there will be guides taped on the ground to display 6ft apart as you may have to wait a short bit to enter and be guided to the appropriate room.
• Hymnals and Bibles will not be used, but the music and scriptures will be printed in the bulletin
• The service will remain a shortened service style we have been using since we went to online streaming.
I recognize that the timing of this may not feel appropriate to some while other’s feel it desperately needed given the state of our country amidst pandemic, protests, unjustified violence and murder, and riots. May we remember to love each other despite our differences of any kind. Remember Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God and love each other. (Matt 22:36-40)
In Christ Peace and Love,
Pastor Nicki
Click on the link below near the time the service begins at 10:00am to watch the live stream https://www.facebook.com/espresbyterian/
YouTube Live Stream and recording can be found at https://www.espresbyterian.com/worship/ or https://www.youtube.com/user/ESPresbyterian
Additionally, bulletins and an online hymnal have been put on the website and can be found at https://www.espresbyterian.com/worship/sunday-bulletin/
