Well we have been on a journey these past months and we have found ourselves on this journey separated from one another. However hard the physical separation has been, and it continues to be, it is for the right reasons. Resurrection has been gifted with a wonderful option though. We have a beautiful outdoor worship setting that we will begin using for worship on Sunday mornings at 10am starting July 12th and will continue each week weather permitting and following MN state guidelines.
After many steps and a lot of conversations we do believe we can both hold your health and safety as top priority and appropriately gather for outdoor worship. I have included in this mailing our guidelines and a map of the outdoor worship space to help you navigate. We are prepared and we can do this if we all do it together.
Resurrection will continue to produce our online worship experiences for the foreseeable future as well. Our online worship has been a major gift to so many and we see our outdoor worship and our online worship as incredibly important to our spiritual lives. Watch online here.
We also acknowledge that we are not experts in social distance worshiping. We have listened to the experts closely, which is why we have taken our time to do due diligence. But we expect to be experts soon as we will learn from week to week. We will be taking baby steps with your health in the forefront of all our plans. We will also continue to respond and follow our states guidelines moving forward. As you know some states may have opened too soon and some people have not been taking this situation as seriously as they should. I say again… we are prepared, and we can do this if we do it together. Please read through the guidelines and follow the seating guide. As always there is no pressure to come. Per our survey there are those who are not comfortable with outdoor worship even if we were not in a pandemic. We get that. We understand. Our online worship will continue and we are working on future plans for indoor worship sometime this fall.
Blessings to you all!
Pastor Paul Dean
As we open for Outdoor Worship: Additional protections and protocols
Other conditions and circumstances addressed in this plan that are specific to our church include:
- per Industry Guidance for Safely Reopening: Places of Worship we will not be able to gather outside in groups larger than 250. If we find that our outdoor worship begins to lean in that direction, we will act to either add an additional outdoor worship or institute a reservation system (which is not favorable).
- as of this summer of 2020, in person communion will be suspended until further notice… we will still celebrate communion during our online worship.
- even though we are outside COVID-19 is commonly spread through aerosol which means we will ask each worship attendee to wear a mask. Being outside means the wind comes into the picture. Please read further information from the CDC here.
- we will not have handouts, but you will be able to download a worship handout to your phone that includes an order of worship and the lyrics of songs.
- the building will be closed which means that the bathroom facilities will not be accessible… please use your home facilities before attending worship.
- at this time, we will be also suspending in person children messages, however they will continue during online worship.
- as you come to worship please follow social distancing when you are parking and walking to the outdoor worship area.
- the outdoor worship space will be clearly marked for 6 feet of social distancing… families are encouraged to sit together…
- please bring your own chair or blanket to sit on… chairs will not be provided…
- weather – please check our website 30 minutes prior to worship to see if our wonderful Minnesota weather cooperates for outdoor worship!
- please see the map of our campus that is included for more direction.
- in order to help with contact tracing we will be taking attendance through our website and sign in sheets with clean pens and hand sanitizer.
- if you have a fever or are ill please refrain from attending and seek medical help.
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