Here is what to expect at First UMC and on-site worship starting June 7 from Pastor Jeb.

To my First UMC family!

I am looking forward to joining you in on-site worship starting this Sunday, June 7! 

I am thankful that we have been able to continue worshiping together during this time of social distancing by video and radio. I have certainly missed being able to worship in person with all of you. As I think about this time, I think it is interesting that we have been worshiping remotely during the season of Easter. I am reminded that just as Jesus was not where he was expected that Easter morning, we can be grateful that God has made Jesus present in the Holy Spirit wherever we are in worship of Him!

I want to share with you what to expect as we come together for on-site worship, but first I want to remind you that we will continue to offer worship through the church website, facebook, and our radio broadcast at 99.1 KCLV FM.

Before deciding if you or your family will physically attend worship. Please consider the following:
– have I or anyone in my family been sick in the past two weeks?

– Am I 60+ years old, immunocompromised, or at higher risk?

– Do I have anxiety about the current situation, or does the thought of returning to in-person worship at this point cause me anxiety?

Please use your common sense when it comes to making the decision for yourself to attend on-site worship. If you have a fever, feel unwell, or have a cold, you are encouraged to join us by worshiping online or via the radio broadcast of the service.  If you are just uncomfortable being a part of on-site worship at this point, you are encouraged to continue worshiping with First UMC online or by listening to the radio broadcast. I am grateful for the technology that allows us to stay connected.

Services

We are now offering our 1 worship service at our regular time at 9:30am

We are not taking reservations for you to attend a specific service. We do not anticipate any issues on seating in the sanctuary.  

9:30am – this is our regular service time and will be the service that is livestreamed online.

Masks

Wearing a mask is your choice. All are encouraged to attend worship whether you wear a mask or not. If you need a mask, there are masks provided in the Welcome Center. If you take a handmade one, please take it home, wash it, and bring it back. We have a limited supply of handmade masks.

Social distancing

You are encouraged to maintain social distancing in the welcome center/narthex, sanctuary and following the worship service. We will not have a refreshment station set up. We know many of you want to visit following the service and we encourage you to visit outside the facility as we do our best to maintain social distancing.

What to expect at on-site worship:

Entrance 

The main doors to all parking lots will be propped open when you arrive and leave the church to minimize contact with handles by a large volume of people.

Sanitization

There is hand sanitizer provided at all the entrances of the sanctuary and is in the welcome center. Additionally, the church is fully cleaned and wiped down and will be each week.

Bulletins

We will not be handing out bulletins in the short term. The worship order has been emailed and all worship information will be projected on the screen in the sanctuary. The worship bulletin can be found under the “ONLINE WORSHIP” tab of this website.

Nursery

We are not offering nursery at this time. We will let you know when we add nursery on Sunday mornings.

Child Activity Bags

The activity bags have been temporarily removed. If your child needs activities for church, please bring some for them to use.

Seating

Pews have been marked off to maintain social distancing. We have marked a 6ft block in the center of the pew to keep distance from each end. Please sit in the areas that are open with your family unit and/or those you have already been social distancing. Please be flexible in where you sit, your normal pew may be marked off for social distancing. Keep in mind that one side of a pew might have 6 people and other side may have 1 or 2, that is okay as we maintain social distancing.

Bibles/hymnals/offering envelopes

The hymnals, bibles and envelopes in the pews have been removed temporarily from the pews since they cannot easily be sanitized.

Attendance

We will have attendance cards and pens in the pews. Please fill the card out and leave it in the pew. Cards will be picked up following the service. Pens are sanitized each week.

Offering

We will have two baskets at the front of the sanctuary for you to place your offering. We will have a time of offering and prayer in the service, but we will not be passing the offering plates. You can also continue to make your contributions electronically, through the mail, or by dropping a check off in the locked mailbox on the north side of the church office.

Congregational singing

We will have congregational singing during the worship service. Please sing along if you would like. For the time being, please remain seated for the hymns.

Communion

We will offer communion in both services on June 7. The elements will be consecrated in the worship service. The ushers will provide communion as you leave the sanctuary. Communion will be a self-contained, sealed wafer and juice set.

Drive-thru communion

We will offer Drive-thru communion on Sunday July 5 from 4pm-5pm. Please pull to the east/rear parking lot to receive communion.

Sunday School

At this point our focus is to offer on-site worship. We will not be having Sunday School during the summer months.

 

Friends, I am so thankful that we are going to be able to return to on-site worship. I know for some, the return to on-site worship is happening too soon. For others, the return to on-site worship should have happened earlier. For some, the list of how we will worship might seem excessive. For others, the list of how we are offering worship may not be enough. We are trying to find a middle ground that is reasonable and prudent to protect all of us who choose to worship on-site. We will continue to adapt our worship service and how we move forward in ministry information is updated from the state government and CDC.