Dear (Name),
It is my understanding that there has been some confusion on the part of a few in our church about what we are doing and why. In regard to worship, and re-opening the church to in-person worship, and after discussion with staff, I thought it would be good to send you this letter of explanation.
Due to the continuing spike in coronavirus cases, and the health danger it poses to our community, we simply feel it is not the time for us to resume group activities, especially inside our facilities where the danger level is highest. Even though our sanctuary is quite large, and will allow our folks to sit apart at what are considered appropriate distances, there are still too many question marks about how this deadly illness can spread.
We have a Re-Opening Task Force that is monitoring the situation in Shelby County. Our purpose, when the time is right, is to phase in worship possibilities. This group will be diligent in providing you that information when the time comes and will give direction in doing so.
While remote/recorded worship is hardly ideal, it remains our best option at this point in time. So we ask for your patience in understanding that we do this out of concern for you and your fellow worshipers. We hope you are being contacted fairly regularly by a Deacon, so you do not feel completely isolated from your church family. And, of course, if you have a need or concern, please contact us and we will respond as quickly as possible.
If you have a concern or question, please feel free to call one of us. In the meantime, we ask you to be in prayer for our church that we will respond to this pandemic as redemptively and carefully as possible.
God bless you!
Randy
We are aware there are some folk in our church who do not have access to the Internet or email, and some may be wondering what our plans are for re-opening in-person worship. For that reason, we have selected a few to receive the following letter. I thought I would pass it along to everyone, just to be clear about what we are doing.