Hey Charter Oak Folk.
I thought I would give you an update on our future plans. As your elders, we are still very concerned about the spread of this virus, and we are also very concerned about the most vulnerable among us getting infected. We want to make sure that we open back up in a safe and responsible way. So, here is our plan for now. This is always subject to any new information that might come out or any spike of cases in our area.
First of all, we will still have online services for Mother’s Day! We would like to see at least a week to see if cases will start to spike as things reopen.
Second, we are aiming at opening on the 17th in a diminished capacity. We will have two services that will be identical. One at 9:30 and the other at 10:45. These will be shortened services. The reason we will have two is so that we can keep the number of people there very small. We will rope off every other row and encourage families to stay at least six feet away from other families. We also want to encourage the elderly and anyone with an underlying health condition to stay home. We will try to post someone at the front door, so that only one person is touching the door handles. We also will put sanitizer around so that people can keep their hands clean. There will also be no greeting time or passing of an offering plate.
Third, we will still offer online services for those not ready to return, but at a different time. We will record one of the morning services and I will livestream it on facebook at 1:00. I will also post it on YouTube, but it probably won’t get on there until Sunday evening.
Finally, there will be no Sunday School, nursery, or children’s church. So, plan accordingly. Also, midweek services will remain cancelled for now.
We want everyone to stay well and stay safe. In fact, half of our elder board is probably going to stay away for a couple of more weeks. We will keep an eye on the situation in our area every week and try to use our heads as much as possible. If you could let me know by text whether you will attend one of the services and which one, that would be appreciated. We just want to make sure that not everyone attends one and the other is empty. The point is to be able to properly social distance.
We miss you all and look forward to worshipping together.