Church Family Members:
As many of you may have heard, Governor Baker has included houses of worship in the first round of businesses that are permitted to reopen in the Commonwealth. Having said that, there are significant safety standards that each church – and its attendees – must follow. This includes the following:
Upon arriving at the church, individuals who are not from the same household will be required to maintain a distance of 6 feet between each person, and enter the church in an orderly fashion, maintaining that 6-foot distance.Designated seating that is socially-distanced (6 feet apart) for each attendee who is not from the same household as another attendee. Individuals from the same household may sit next to each other in the same row.
Signs and floor markings to designate one-way traffic patterns inside the building
Face coverings or masks will be required when entering, inside and exiting the building for everyone, except those who have a medical exemption
No Coffee Hour or Childcare permitted at this time
Modifications to the worship service to limit physical contact between persons
Encouragement of hand washing and/or use of hand sanitizer frequently
Cleaning and disinfecting of building after each use
If you’ve ventured to a grocery store in recent weeks, many of the above may already be familiar to you. When we begin to worship together again, it may be in the same location, but it will probably feel very different. We are living what some now call, “the new normal.”
Following all of the MA Safety Standards for Houses of Worship will take some time to prepare the building for us to return safely. Therefore, I expect that we will be able to attend worship together at the church on Sunday, June 7 at 11 am. This provides time to make the necessary cleaning and changes to the Sanctuary, as well as monitor the health of the community during this phase 1 of business openings. In the meantime, we will continue to provide a recorded audio worship service on our website each Sunday morning.
Personally, I am surprised Gov. Baker included houses of worship in phase 1 of the reopening process; but I know there was a lot of pressure from some clergy and congregations to do so. Hopefully with the safety standards established, each house of worship may safely resume some of its programming.
Some church members have asked me if we have to open now, just because the Governor says we can. Of course, we don’t have to – and we aren’t immediately. I am trying to find a balance between those who want/need the gathered worship experience and those who fear for their safety and health. When we resume physically worshiping together – whenever that is – things will be different. The world has changed – we have changed – and the precautions we now practice dictate that things will not be the same.
The “how” we do things must change; but what we do – worship as a gathered community, celebrating the love and life of Jesus Christ, and receiving encouragement for our daily living through the Holy Spirit will continue.
As the projected re-opening date approaches, I will share more information about our “new” worship experience.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or thoughts.
Pastor Martha