Dear Springs of Grace Church Family,
We are thankful for God’s mercies over the past couple of months and as elders and in consultation with the medical community in our church and in seeking counsel and prayer, believe that the Lord has given us some guidance for our return to worshiping together. Our goal is to love well our community and church family and to consider the best ways to love those most vulnerable to the virus and to love those who are vulnerable to the consequences emotionally and spiritually of continued isolation. We are not seeking to claim or assert our own liberties. We are not motivated by fear or by financial considerations. We are seeking to love the best we can. We will have a Q & A zoom meeting this Wednesday night at 7:00 to talk about the transition plan.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87305814771?pwd=S2VjV205c2xxVFd3REJ6UzVDYVVGQT09
Meeting ID: 873 0581 4771
Password: 042025
TRANSITION PLAN: This does not reflect long term guidelines, but only some transitionary steps that are intending to help us love well and allow us to follow the social distancing guidelines set forth by our government and the CDC. We are excited to begin the process of moving back to regular worship services. We hope that it won’t be long before we are able to hug and high-five and visit face to face for as long as we want. As elders, we do not believe that we are at that place yet.
Sunday, May 3rd we will have three options for our church family as we gather for worship. We think that all three options are good and different options will be the best fit at this time for different members of our church family. We encourage you to choose the option that is the best way for you to love and serve right now.
Option #1 – you will be able to continue to watch and participate through the live stream of our service on You Tube like you have for the past several weeks from your own home or from where you have been watching.
Option #2 – you can choose to join with another family or families or a small group of people from our church that you would feel comfortable gathering together with to watch and participate through the live stream of our service.
Option #3 – you can gather with us at our church building to participate in our worship IF you let us know you are coming and you are comfortable following the guidelines for the time you are in the building.
Requirements for Option #3:
You must let us know that you are planning to attend by Friday 3:00 pm. We want to know who and how many are coming with you. We would also like to know if there are others in the church family that you have already been quarantining with and/or mutually comfortable sharing space. This lets us know how to prepare our church building space wise.
You will need to wear a mask while in the church building (we understand this is more difficult for children). This includes the singing portion of our worship. Only Zac and Kylie as they sing and Pastor Joe as he preaches will be without their masks. We will create more space between the worship leaders and the seating area. We are wearing masks, not out of fear, but to protect the vulnerable and as an expression of our love for one another.
You will need to come in and make your way to your seat and minimize conversation while in the building.
You will need to leave the church building following the service during the post sermon and post announcements singing. There will be a couple of songs to give time for people to exit.
Once outside the building, everyone should seek to follow the guidelines for social distancing, but it will be up to each person or family as to what this looks like outside.
If a child needs to go to the bathroom, a parent or adult should go with them.
OTHER NOTES:
The carpets have been freshly cleaned and the building will be sanitized prior to the service
There will be NO nursery provided.
Nursing mother rooms will be provided if requested by Friday at 3:00.
The playground will be taped off per the instructions set forward by the state and city.
Masks will be provided upon request.
If you are sick or have been sick in the past few days or if you have any indications of respiratory sickness (cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing), chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, diarrhea, feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit, or if you have known close contact with a person who is lab confirmed to have COVID-19 – we do not want you to attend. It is possible that we might be scanning for fevers at the door.
Attending the gathering of the church does increase your risk of contracting the Corona virus.
We will not be providing coffee, donuts, or water. You are encouraged to bring your own water bottle as needed.
With much love and hope,
Pastor Joe Blankenship
Jared McCoy