We are returning to normal . . . almost
Nearly fifteen months after we stopped gathering for indoor worship, there is light at the end of this COVID tunnel. Our council had scheduled a meeting to review the worship leaders’ suggestions for beginning indoor worship on June 6. However, our governor beat us to the punchline.
COVID-19 is not a joke. We take seriously the health of our members and staff as well as the community. Thank you for your support over the past year while we didn’t meet inside, but continued to be Messiah Lutheran Church, the body of Christ, in this world.
So here’s our plan.
Beginning Sunday, June 6, we will offer two worship services on a Sunday. As for our Saturday evening service, they will resume soon as we work on staffing for that service.
As we resume our services, we will follow CDC and state guidelines for indoor gatherings – masks, some distancing, etc. Also, there will be no congregational singing inside the sanctuary until the nation or local vaccination level is between 75-80%. This based on our music staff knowledge and the Center for Congregational Song (www.congregationalsong.org) data.
The 8:30 am service will be indoors and live-streamed. Our service will be led with the organ, and a vocalist will sing from the library. This setup worked well for us last August.
The second service, 10:00 am, will be led by 103Alive! This service will be outdoors unless there is inclement weather, then it will be indoors. Either way, it will be live-streamed. We are cautious with timing between the services since it can take almost an hour to set up the equipment. This fall, this service time will move to 11:00 am on Sunday, September 12 (this is the Sunday after Labor Day), as we look at how Growing God’s Way (GGW) will resume in the fall.
Volunteers are needed. Over the next few weeks, we will need to get our sanctuary cleaned after more than a year of unuse. We’ll also resume the use of readers for the lessons, ushers, acolytes, audio-video techs, worship assistants, etc. Watch the bulletin and weekly emails for updates on cleaning opportunities.
God’s peace,
Pastor Tim