05/22/2020
Chelsea church of Christ Plans for Resuming church services.
May 20, 2020
Dear Church Family,
You may not remember what happened in the spring of 2016 or 2018, but you’ll probably never forget what has happened during the spring of 2020! The COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing guidelines that have accompanied it have changed almost everything about our daily lives, and the changes are still not over. That can be discouraging. Like you, I’m ready for things to return back to something approaching normal, even though I recognize that each step takes wisdom, caution, and patience.
Toward that end, the men had a meeting to discuss both how and when we will attempt to resume our church services at the building. We used information from both the CDC and the Michigan Governor’s Office to determine what issues to discuss and what changes needed to be made. We plan on having another meeting after the 28th of May; which is when our governor has said she will release additional guidelines for public gatherings. Today, I am thankful to share some of our upcoming plans with you:
First, we plan to relaunch Sunday worship services on June 7th. This is our target date, and is subject to change depending on our governor.
In order to assure plenty of space for social distancing, and following the restriction of only having 10 people at a gathering, we are limiting the available seating in our auditorium to 8 (allowing for the preacher and song leader to complete the numbering to 10) and opening up our fellowship hall to seat 10 while live streaming the service from the auditorium. We are also increasing the number of Sunday morning services to two.
The first worship service will begin at 9:30 AM and the second will begin 10:35 AM.
Due to limited seating and to make sure you have a place to sit when you arrive, we will provide a way for you to reserve seats online or by phone for your desired service. To give time for cleaning and sanitizing the auditorium and fellowship hall between services, each service will last about a half hour.
Obviously, there will be no Bible classes at first; and we have elected to have no evening services either. Recommendations from the CDC urge minimal contact in terms of length of time spent together.
So, what else is changing?
When we begin meeting again, you will have to wear a mask (unless you can’t medically). If you don’t have one, we will have one for you. I will be wearing a mask when mingling with everyone, but not when preaching. Too many people actually follow along by sort of lip-reading as I preach.
Everyone will be greeted at the door with a bottle of hand sanitizer, and offered a sq**rt. Disposable gloves will be at the door also. And, as you enter there will be a special combination pack of unleavened bread and juice for you to pick up (a picture is a the bottom of this post). These will be placed in a sandwich Ziploc prior to service, and we ask that you seal your used cups back into that Ziploc for disposal. At the Lord’s Supper there will be no trays passed. We will have a convenient place for you to place your contribution as well.
Another thing that will be changing is our singing. The CDC has recommended that all song books, bibles, and other paper items be removed from the auditorium as they can harbor the virus for an extended length of time. So, we are transitioning to the Paperless Hymnal, and will be projecting the songs on a screen. Be patient with us as we attempt this new technological marvel.
Before I close, I want to take a moment to commend you for honoring Jesus Christ through your giving and ongoing ministry. I’m grateful to God to be the preacher of such a compassionate, generous, and faithful church!
Thank you for praying for our church, and my family. I look forward to the day when we can worship face to face, but until then, count on my prayers for you and your family.
Sincerely,
Tom Haddox
(734) 834-7749
