Dear Church Family,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  We know that the past two months have been unprecedented in our church’s history.  We have learned how to adjust to new protocols involving dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, including not being able to experience in-person fellowship with our church family.  We enjoy an intimacy within the Body of Christ, and it has been heart-breaking for us not to be able to share life in a way we have enjoyed so freely.

Our county officials have now lifted the shelter-in-place restrictions on places of worship.  We now face the task of reopening the church.  We believe that reopening is important for the spiritual healing of both individuals and the church community.  We want to reopen in such a way that demonstrates the love of God to our church family and the greater community of SSF.

We understand that some of our church family are excited to once again worship together in our church building, while others face reopening with reluctance and caution.  We want to address this in a manner that allows you to experience our reopening in a way that is most comfortable to you.  We have put together a COVID-19 Prevention Plan for the reopening of our church that follows the current state and county guidelines.

The Plan includes:

1. At this time only the lobby area, bathrooms, and sanctuary will be available for usage. We will keep you informed as to when the usage of other rooms will be made available.
2. Currently, we can open our doors to only 25% of our capacity. This means that we can have up to 35 people in attendance.
3. We encourage those of you who are at-risk to remain home and participate in our worship services over the internet.
4. While the wearing of masks and gloves are not a requirement in order to attend worship services, we encourage all who come to consider wearing them for the safety concerns of others.  We will provide masks and gloves for anyone who desires to use them.
5. We ask that we show respect and restraint when greeting others. While we are a loving family who greets one another with great affection, please be mindful that others may not feel comfortable shaking hands or exchanging hugs at this time.
6. We ask that children remain with their family members during service. At this time we will not be offering Nursery Care or Children’s Church.
7. Coffee and doughnuts will not be served after service at this time.

We desire to reopen our doors as safely as possible.  We understand that many of us do not feel comfortable gathering together at this time.   However, we also understand that there are many in our church family who strongly desire in-person fellowship.  While we know that any type of gathering poses a risk of spreading COVID-19, we believe that if we take the necessary precautions and open our doors responsibly, we can provide a place of worship that is both safe and inviting.

 

God bless you.

Hillside Church of God
Board of Trustees