A Plan to Responsibly Re-Open
Dear Saints,
Alleluia, Christ is Risen! (He is risen indeed, alleluia)
Greetings in the name of our crucified, risen, and ascended Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
During this unprecedented time we have closely followed all guidelines & mandates given by the state in regards to public church activities. Thankfully, due to the stay-at-home mandate being relaxed in Luzerne County eff. 5/29 (to phase “yellow”) we plan on safely resuming in-person Divine Services this Sunday, May 31, 2020.
The mandate allows for up to 25 per service. Since our poll indicated that we would exceed the “under 25” guideline, we will be adding an identical service at 11:00 a.m. We encourage anyone who can attend the later service to please consider doing so as it will help us keep our attendance in each service within the state guidelines.
Although we are very excited to resume services, we need to do so as safely as possible. Pastor and the Board of Elders (Gary Nash, Bill Helgemo, Pastor Grimm, Elmer Blackwell Jr.) have been working closely and intentionally to make sure that this happens. As such, we have put together a list of guidelines that we will follow along with some expectations everyone who plans on attending must heed for the sake of our congregation and community.
We advise everyone to follow the same social-distancing guidelines they have in grocery stores.
Everyone is to wear a mask at all times (except when in your pew, but including when you come to communion), keep a 6-foot distance, etc, use provided hand-sanitizer... You know the drill!
No coffee hour, no bible study, no handshakes, no chatting inside.
When service is over, please make your way home. We do not want people gathering indoors.
Pews will be marked off, two pew distance, one pew to each family.
When you arrive at Church, walk through the doors straight to the sanctuary and find an open pew.
You are not required to wear a mask when worshiping in your pew, but you are asked to wear the mask whenever you leave your pew, including when you come up for communion.
You may leave your offering as you come or as you go on a plate in the narthex.
Hymnals have been removed from the pews and you are encouraged to take your bulletin home with you. We will not be collecting bulletins after service.
Communion will be in much smaller tables with a 6-ft distance between families. You may stand to receive communion or kneel.
The chalice will be offered (and will be purified with very-high proof grain alcohol between each family). Glass individual cups will also be offered, but will be spaced more in the tray and will be sanitized after every service.
The host (bread) will be placed in the communicants hand, you may lift your mask to consume the host once Pastor has distributed the host to everyone in the table.
The glass cups will be distributed and once they have all been given, you may lift your mask to drink.
They will be collected in a tray afterwards and sanitized by being boiled for at least 10 minutes.
The wine will be 17% abv. fortified communion wine for sanitary purposes.
Pastor will wash his hands prior to distribution and will cleanse his hands during the distribution with grain alcohol during the distribution and between each table.
We are asking that a couple people volunteer after each service to help Sharon Jones sanitize the church for the next service.
We will not have a choir for a while due to necessary close proximity and age.
Anyone who does not feel comfortable coming to Church should stay home.
Anyone who is at high-risk and feels uncomfortable coming should stay home.
However, no one will be refused at the door due to age or capacity. You are free to make your own risk assessments.
Everyone who comes to service must accept the risk that they may contract a disease from attending. We will do our best to be as safe as possible, but we cannot guarantee your safety.
Pastor is available during the week to give communion to anyone who is unable to attend by appointment.
We will continue to offer the online live broadcasts for anyone who cannot attend.
For the time being we will be having Divine Services with Communion every week at our 9:00 a.m. service and at our 11:00 a.m. service. These services will be identical. The church will be sanitized between the services and after the 11:00 service. The 9:00 a.m. service will be the only one broadcast online.
We are very glad that so many of you are planning on attending services again in person. We ask that everyone agree to follow the aforementioned guidelines for the sake of our congregation and community.
Additionally, we ask that everyone who plans on coming please indicate which service you plan on attending so we can make sure we do not exceed our capacity.
Please respond to this email with which service you plan on attending.
Finally, Thank you! As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. Although we are still not able to gather in the same way we used to please join me in giving thanks for the opportunity we now have to gather to receive God’s gifts in the Divine Service. Thank you to everyone, for continuing to be supportive and receptive to the myriad of changes we have had to make over the past few months. I am very blessed to be here and, Lord willing, I look forward to continuing to serve you as we transition back to in-person activities.
Peace be with you,
Rev. Joshua K. DeYoung, Pastor