March 3, 2021
Good day siblings in Christ,
This Sunday, we will be opening the doors once again for worshipers to join us in person. This time around, we will have doors and windows opened for air circulation, so it may be wise to bring a jacket. The windows in the link will be open with the door next to the pulpit open and the one window in the sanctuary will be cracked open as well. For those who get The NY Times on Sunday, there was a very good article on best practices as schools open. The information was very applicable to the church. If you have a digital subscription or can retrieve the article, there were moving models of airflow with the graphics. Other churches which have opened have used a similar technique and it seems a safe practice.
Covid is still very much with us, so masks will still be required, even if you have been vaccinated. I have had shot 1, as has Phill, and I will still be using a duck billed KN95 mask. We care about the health of our fellow members, so it is a good practice. Sitting a row apart and 6 feet apart is also good practice. In our sanctuary, that means one person sitting by the wall and one person in the aisle. I have removed the blue tape from the pews, but we still want to practice safe distancing.
Communion will also return this week. If you are choosing to stay at home, please have some bread and wine or grape juice ready and follow along with us. As I hold the plate up, feel free to hold yours up too. We are separate, but still together during this time.
We will still offer services digitally and will probably do so for the rest of my tenure at least. As more and more people return, we will probably eliminate Zoom and use only Facebook and YouTube. Zoom has a cost, while the others are free. We also want to free up space by eliminating cameras and computers as more people attend. Right now, this equipment sits in the center aisle, taking up about 4 rows of seats. We will cross this bridge when we come to it, but I wanted to share what we are thinking right now.
Be love,
Pastor Johnson