Dear Covenant Family:
Covenant Church is ready to re-open this coming Sunday on June 7. Below is the notification we sent out last week outlining our plans for the first few church services. Note that the only additional comment is that no child care will be provided until some later date. Children are welcome to attend our church services but must wear a mask and sit with their family during the church service.
Notification sent to all Covenant church members last week:
Dear Covenant Family:
The Trustees have had much discussion and careful deliberation the past week regarding the opportunity to re-open Covenant Church for Sunday services. We took into account the existing state and local rules on re-opening as well as the older age, and higher risk, group of individuals that attend Covenant Church. The result of our discussions is that we feel comfortable in re-opening Covenant Church on Sunday June 7 for those members who are ready to come back. We understand that some members are likely not yet ready for this step, and those folks should stay at home until they are comfortable making the decision to return. We also believe there are some members ready and eager to get back to worshiping God together and to interacting with their friends at Covenant. So we are preparing to re-open Covenant Church on Sunday June 7 for anyone who is ready to return for Sunday services.
Please note that Carl is ready and eager to return and lead Sunday services. This is a critical step in re-opening Covenant Church, without Carl ready to lead we would not re-open.
The Trustees feel that it is important to require the wearing of masks by everyone at least the first few weeks we are open. Masks will be provided to any church member needing one, they will be made available at the door when entering Covenant. The reason for this is to ensure there is no spread of germs through mist of any sort. If there are members who cannot wear a mask for any reason, we can try to accommodate them after we have started successfully having services.
The proposed plan is also set so that noone has to touch anything to attend church. Below are the procedures we will follow for the first Sunday service on June 7. We will alter these procedures as we move forward but we feel these conditions will provide maximum safety for all attendees to successfully begin a re-opening.
* The church will be thoroughly cleaned before the re-opening. Note that Covenant has been completely empty for two months except for Bill Mercado checking on things twice a week and Edwina Hope going to the church office twice a week to check on mail. CDC guidelines suggest that a thorough cleaning with soap and water is sufficient for such a re-opening. The Trustees will consider and decide if any additional steps need to be taken regarding cleaning of the church.
* Members should put on their masks as soon as they exit their car. Anyone needing a mask can get one as soon as they get to the front door. The front door will be open with hand sanitizer available for cleaning hands before entering. We will not have a bulletin for the first week of service. Ron will be there to greet everyone but will serve more as a social distance enforcer so we do not have a group of people trying to enter at the same time. Members can go directly to their seat and sit down for the service and then leave after the service. If they wish, they can stand before and after church to speak with others while maintaining social distancing. Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the church.
* Attached is a photo of the planned chair setup to achieve proper social distancing. We are currently set up for 34 seats and can add more as the need arises. If a married couple or family members living together would like to sit side by side, we can accommodate that preference. You may feel free to move chairs closer together in those situations. Also, if you tell a Trustee your preference ahead of time, we will move chairs together and reserve them for you. For all others, we will require current social distancing rules at this time and adjust accordingly as the rules ease up.
* We will not provide coffee in the kitchen for awhile until we are comfortable that will not offer any risk of disease. We will close the kitchen doors for now as there is no need for anyone to enter the kitchen. We will provide bottled water for anyone needing something to drink during the service.
* The first service will be focused on worshiping together again, praying for our church members and all Americans, and hearing a message from Carl. We will determine what music will be included in the program as we get closer to opening. We will not use hymnals the first few weeks of service. We will not have our visitation period during church, we would recommend people do their visitation before and after church, and even in the parking lot as they are coming and going, hopefully wearing their masks.
* Please let a Trustee know if anyone has an issue with any of these requirements we have set for re-opening Covenant Church. We want to work with everyone to make them feel comfortable attending church while also ensuring we are doing everything possible to maximize the safety of all attendees. We look forward to, hopefully, seeing you all back at Covenant soon. May God continue to bless Covenant Church!
Covenant Trustees