September 24, 2020
Christ Church,
I want to update you on our latest worship gathering plans, which will go into place on Sunday, October 4. Our last “regular” worship gathering at our current home inside Great Hearts Northern Oaks was on Sunday, March 8. Because of the COVID pandemic, we have spent seven months meeting online only, at the Drury Hotel, online only again, and outdoors on the soccer field.
As the COVID numbers continue to decline in San Antonio, the elders and the staff have spent many hours discussing and praying about when to move back inside and discussing if we should stay at Great Hearts or find a different location. We have made the decision to remain at Great Hearts for the next year at least (we run on a year-to-year contract with the school) for worship as we believe it continues to provide a good setting for us to minister and fulfill our mission as a church. We are going to move indoors because it is reasonably safe to do so; because it protects us from the weather; and because it allows us to hold our “full” worship service and do more Sunday morning ministry activity together than we can do outside.
However, due to ongoing city and country restrictions for indoor gatherings, our time on Sundays will be modified. So, what are we going to do?
Worship
We are planning to hold two identical worship services beginning Sunday, October 4 at 9:30 am and 11:00 am. Note the time for the first service has moved back thirty minutes to 9:30. Each service will be socially distanced in the seating arrangements. We are asking that you register online for which service you plan to attend each week. The reason for this is twofold: 1) it will allow you to register for childcare if you need it (see below), and 2) it will give our leadership a good sense of the attendance patterns for each service. The registrations will go live each week on Tuesday morning for the upcoming Sunday services. We will hold our “full” worship service each week, including Communion. We will not practice a greeting time or pass a physical offering plate. We will observe Communion in the way we have been practicing on the soccer fields: the elders, wearing face coverings, will distribute the elements to each worshipping family individually and we will all partake together. We are very excited to move back to a full worship gathering. Our time together on the soccer field has been very beneficial for our growth together and we believe that moving indoors will only add to the benefits of worship.
Childcare
We are very pleased to begin offering childcare again on Sunday mornings. We will initially open two classrooms for childcare in each service. The first will be the nursery and the second will be for toddlers. There will be a cap for the number of children who can be in each room. The nursery will be capped at 5 children, and the toddler room will be capped at 8 children. Registrations for childcare will happen on a first come, first serve basis. So, I encourage you to register your children quickly when the registrations go live. We hope in time to expand the capacity and to add all of our rooms back, as well as begin Kids Quest again during the worship gathering. I’m very pleased that Kim VanSteenburg and Erin Hintz, our long-time weekly childcare workers, will be back with us for these gatherings. All paid workers and all volunteers in childcare will be required to wear a face covering for the duration of their time in the childcare space.
COVID Restrictions
Because we meet in a school facility, we are contractually obligated to abide by the COVID protocols that the school has in place. We believe that they are reasonable and will not be a hindrance to our worship gatherings. Every one who is 10 years old and above who enters the facility will be required to wear a face covering. Once you have entered the Multi-Purpose Room (MPR) where our worship gathering takes place, you have the option of removing your face covering. We continue to ask that you practice social distancing and respect those whose views regarding the risks associated with COVID differ from yours. When leaving the MPR for any reason (child pick-up, bathroom, or exiting the facility), face coverings must be placed back on.
We recognize that moving back inside for worship makes some feel uncomfortable attending. Because of this, we are making every reasonable effort to provide you with opportunities to worship physically with us on Sundays. First, we are planning to broadcast our live feed of the service on the wall outdoors in the courtyard of the school. We will have socially distanced seating arranged outside for those who would like to remain outside due to safety concerns. The elders will also serve you Communion if you are seated outdoors. If you are not comfortable with being present outside, you can watch our 11:00 am service every week on YouTube as it is live-streamed.
Finally, we will continue to ask that you only attend our gatherings if you are healthy and have not knowingly been exposed to COVID-19. If you have any symptoms, please remain home for the safety of our congregation.
Friends, I am eager to worship with you indoors in a few days. I want to encourage you to make every effort to attend one of our gatherings and to experience together with us the mercies of our God. I hope to see you this Sunday, September 27, out on the fields, and then beginning in October, inside at Great Hearts.
For the gospel,
Luke