06/11/2020
Good afternoon brothers and sisters in Christ,
It is with great joy and thanksgiving to Christ, the head of his body the Church, that we can announce the reopening of Faith Baptist Church and the resuming of our normal service schedule. This comes in light of the recent announcement that all worship services in Ontario are allowed to resume with physical distancing and 30% capacity. Our estimates put that number at about 77 people are allowed in our church during a service, which means we should have no trouble with our normal attendance. Our reopening will be beginning this Sunday with both the morning and evening services resuming at their usual times (11 AM and 6 PM respectively). We will also be resuming Wednesday evening prayer meetings at 7 PM. Please note that Sunday School will not resume for the rest of the summer, and we will pick up where we left off in September.
Our hope is that everyone who can will be able to come and fellowship with the saints freely. No restraints have, at this point, been put on singing or communion as is the case in some other provinces. While we won’t be having communion this week, we will have it in the next few weeks Lord willing.
Before we meet together, it is important that everyone keeps a few things in mind.
• Physical distancing measures are still in place. Unfortunately, this means refraining from hugs and handshakes for the time being. Please let your brothers and sisters know how much you appreciate them in more verbal ways.
• Seating will also be limited, with every second pew roped off and 2 meters between family groups in the pews, or two seats between each family group in the balcony. Please use the balcony, as it is giving us a much bigger capacity than if it wasn’t there. You may not get you favourite seat, and spreading out will be encouraged. We will still be together, able to talk, fellowship, and show Christian affection.
• If you want to wear a face mask to church, please bring your own. If you do not have one or are not able to obtain one, please speak to brother Len Lipp and we can work something out.
• Hand sanitizer will be provided at every entrance, we ask everyone to wash their hand upon entering and leaving the building.
• Nursery will not be available this Sunday. Its availability in coming Sundays is yet to be announced.
• If you are not able to make it this Sunday, the sermons should be available on the church website on Monday, Lord willing.
As we move into a new season of returning to our physical gatherings, it is definitely understandable that some may not yet be comfortable meeting as a church just yet. We want everyone to feel safe when they join us in fellowship. However, I urge you to not think of church-from-home as a long term option, even if it is one you are sticking with for a few more weeks. There is a danger in the comfort and accessibility of listening to the sermons at home that we may have become used to in the last few months. While we never stopped being the church, gathering together is vital part of what we do to glorify Christ. The church is not a building, but it is the ἐκκλησία, that is, the gathering or assembly of God’s people. As we gather together, we serve one another with our gifts, we exhort one another against sin, we encourage one another in our struggles, we build one another up in faith, we preach the Gospel together, and we display the Gospel in our actions and affections which are encouraged in our meeting together.
May the joy of the Holy Spirit permeate our hearts as we prepare to meet together once again.
In Christ,
Pastor Andy
