Returning to In-Person Worship – April 18th

We have adopted the following guidelines for safely returning to in-person worship on April 18^th. The health and safety of the entire congregation depends upon each of us following these guidelines, so we ask that you please read and familiarize yourself with them so that we may return safely and comfortably.

Prior to Worship:

• No pre-registering or signing in: Worshipers will not be required to pre-register for worship or sign-in when they arrive. The Knox County Board of Health is no longer doing contact tracing, so neither will we. Should we be made aware of someone testing positive after being in worship, we will send out an announcement alerting the congregation of the positive test allow individuals to determine how they respond.
• No attendance limits: There will be no attendance limits for worship. Every other pew will be closed off to encourage proper physical distancing and ushers will help direct households to seating areas that are properly distanced from other worshipers.
• All entrances/exits will be open: All entrances/exits to the building and areas of the building will be open and available for use by worshipers.

During Worship:

• Face coverings: Worshipers are asked to wear a face covering at all times while inside the building, even if they have been vaccinated. This is not only to protect and show our love for others, but allows us all to focus on God, rather than who is and is not wearing a face covering. Disposable face coverings will be available at each entrance to the sanctuary.
• Safe Physical distancing: Each household is asked to maintain an appropriate physical distance and to refrain from physical contact with those outside of one’s household, even if they have been vaccinated. Worshipers are asked not to congregate in groups inside the sanctuary but are free to congregate and visit with one another outside in the Sanctuary Courtyard or other outdoor areas on the church grounds.
• Nursery: The nursery will be open during worship and childcare will be available for children, infant to age 6.
• Singing: Worshipers may sing hymns quietly while wearing a mask. We will only sing two hymns in a service, rather than three, and we may sing fewer verses than normal. Hymnbooks will not be used; lyrics will be displayed on a screen.
• Bulletins/Bibles: Worship bulletins will be available for those who desire one. For those who do not, all communal aspects of the worship service will be displayed on a screen. This will include Scripture readings, as Bibles will not be in the pews.
• Offering Plates: We will not pass offering plates during the service. Plates will be placed at the entrances to the sanctuary and worshipers are encouraged to place their offering there, either as they enter or exit.
• Communion: We will celebrate communion on the first Sunday of the month using self-contained communion cups. By mid-summer it may be possible to offer an optional intinction communion station up front for those who wish to come forward and partake of communion in this manner. This would be in addition to, not in place of, the self-contained communion cups. We do not see a return to “normal” communion until at least the fall.
• Worship Leadership: The choir will remain as it has been during the pandemic, 6-8 scholarship singers properly distanced, wearing masks and rehearsing on Sunday mornings. The liturgists and pastors will lead worship from the lectern and pulpit. They will not wear face coverings while speaking in the lectern/pulpit but will wear face coverings the rest of the time.

The Worship Ministry Unit will revisit these guidelines throughout the summer and adjust accordingly as case levels, hospitalization levels, and vaccination levels allow.