MOST RECENT UPDATES TO OUR PROTOCOLS (5.26.21)
What a year it has been! As we have sought to put others before ourselves each of us have made sacrifices. Those sacrifices and attention to matters of health and safety have paid off, as we have had zero transmissions of covid-19 from a worship experience in the last year!
As much of the country and the state of MI are moving forward with relaxed guidelines we want to update our approach to mirror best practices and what we have learned from the scientific community. Therefore, starting this week, here is our approach to masks and more:
Masks: We will be shifting our wording from highly recommending masks to stating that masks are optional. We desire to see people worship and fellowship as they feel comfortable based on their personal risk assessment.
Seating: With seating capacities increasing in a positive direction for indoor venues, and with our services being pretty packed out the last month, we felt like a change was in order. We are updating our seating in the sanctuary from under 30% capacity to around 50% capacity. We continue to see new guests on a regular basis, including 7 this last week! We want to make sure that there are enough seats for everyone while still allowing for some spacing of rows.
Health Screenings: We still ask that if you aren't feeling well and have symptoms of covid, the flu, strep, and more, you worship from home so that the rest of the church family can stay healthy. You have done such a great job at this, let's keep it up! Also on the health side, we will continue to maintain our hand sanitizing stations and utilize our halo fogger as appropriate.
As we have from the start, we continue to encourage folks to risk-assess for themselves and to do what makes them comfortable, while thinking about how their decisions affect those around them. We are so thankful as a leadership team that this congregation has been a model for what it means to love one another and has maintained unity in areas that have caused a lot of division in the body of Christ around the world. Thanks for your leadership, may God continue to do more than we ask or imagine as we seek and serve Him together!
MOST RECENT UPDATES TO OUR PROTOCOLS (3.14.21)
Hey Everyone! Some of the most recent updates include the re-opening of our kids ministry and the return of coffee! We look forward to seeing you soon!!
Welcome Back!
The safety of you and your family is our #1 concern. While we are excited to open our doors and offer services again, we want you to know that we've considered this decision with much prayer, counsel, and research. Please carefully read through the information below before you make the decision that is best for your family.
What to Expect...
- Our worship service will still be at 10:30 with the main entrance & worship center doors opening at 10am.
- We are trying to provide a contact free experience. That means all door will be open so you don't have to handle them, bulletins and communion will be located at your seat before the service, the offering will be received only through drop boxes or online, and we are holding off on our refreshment station for the time being. Feel free to bring your own coffee or water!
- Our kid's programming is on hold as we try to figure out how to best minister to the group that will have the most difficulty with social distancing. We hope to resume this by fall when school kicks off! In the mean-time, families are invited to worship together in the worship center, or the fellowship center (gym) where we will have tables and hands on stuff for the kids while the service is streamed to the room. We are planning on having the nursery open if a couple parents need to change a diaper or rock an infant.
- Expect to see some familiar faces that you've been missing and for God to bless us with His presence!!
Will Online Services Continue to be Offered?
Absolutely! We are continuing each week to try to create an online experience that will connect you to your church family and help you grow and thrive spiritually. We will continue to stream through YouTube, Facebook, and our website.
Precautions We're Taking...
- Every Sunday our staff and serving team will be screened by being asked questions about their health and scanned for a temperature to ensure that we are healthy and safe to serve.
- Hand sanitizer stations will be available throughout the lobby and the bathrooms will have antibacterial soap and non touch paper towel dispensers.
- With social distancing in mind, we are focusing on how to love each other from 6 feet apart. (the CDC recommended distance).
In order to keep you safe and assure social distancing is available, we removed the remaining pews and are replacing them with chairs (see pics below). Your party will be seated in the worship center, overflow room, or gym 6' away from the nearest group by our fantastic team of ushers. Each room will be seated at around 30% capacity.
The lobby will serve as a transition space only rather than a gathering space for the time being. You'll find spots on the floor to stand at a 6-10 distance from other folks.
That also means that we will be asking everyone to refrain from handshakes and high fives. We'll replace those for the time being with air hugs, air high fives, air chest bumps, or whatever way you'd like to great someone through the air at a 6 foot distance!
- We are also following CDC guidelines by highly recommending that everyone who attends wear a face covering. Please bring one that you are comfortable with. If you forget yours, or have been unable to secure one, we will have some available. Our friends at Warren Road blessed us with quite a few in so many patterns that you'll be able to find one that excites you!
In Regards to the Governor's most recent order on face coverings, you can click here to see a response from our Board of Ministry.
- On top of normal cleaning, we are waiting on a Halo cleaner. This system is used in hospitals nation-wide and is a Tier 1 killer of Covid, The Flu, Hand Foot and Mouth, and many more. This will assure every ounce of anything in the room is killed off before and after groups arrive.
Before You Join Us, Please Ask Yourself...
- Am I sick or showing any flu-like symptoms?
- Have I had a fever of 100.4 or higher in the past 48 hours?
- Have I had prolonged exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days?
- Is there any medical reason why I shouldn’t be around others?
If you answered YES to ANY of these questions, we ask that you stay home for the safety of others and join us for online worship. In addition, if you are considered to be in the vulnerable part of the population, we ask that you consider worshiping online as well.
Final Thoughts...
Your safety is our #1 priority and we have been working for months to take every precaution we can to assure the safest experience possible. However, please understand that being anywhere in public these days involves a level of risk and personal responsibility. The decision to attend services in person is completely up to you, so please take the time to be sure you feel confident in your decision. We hope to see you soon!
As a reminder, here are our phases for re-gathering (currently at phase 3 for the campus worship gatherings):
Great job planning these accommodations!
I plan on being there Sunday. Since I haven’t seen most of you since December I’m looking forward to the service.