2021 Services @ Redeemer
What a year. In March, we canceled worship one Sunday and then started recording services on Thursdays to be played online in your homes. Over the summer, we moved to multiple, smaller in-person services and learned how to live stream. A couple of months ago we added a “mask required” service and an overflow room. Each of these changes has been with a concern for the spiritual health of our people as well as the physical well-being of each other and our neighbors.
As the new year approaches, we will continue to prioritize safety while maintaining our commitment to both corporate worship and public witness. As we wrote in a letter in May, we want to be “reasonably safe.” That means we’re working to stay within the guidelines provided by the CDC and our governor.
To that end, we plan to move to three worship services on January 3rd. This will enable us to serve more worshippers within proper social distancing limits. The service times are 8:30 (mask required), 10:00, and 11:30. Childcare is available for the 8:30 and 11:30 only.
In order for this to be effective, we need your help in a few areas:
Sign-ups. You can serve your fellow members by signing up each week. We haven’t turned anyone away, and don’t plan to. But signing up helps us to spread the attendance out more evenly between services. If you try to sign up and see that the service you wanted is full, please sign up and attend a different service.
Masks. The first service (8:30am) will be a mask required service. You’ll be asked to wear a mask the entire time you’re in the building during this hour. If you come to this service without a mask, you will be asked to wear one, or return to one of the later services. In addition, along with the CDC, we’re continuing to recommend masks while inside the building during all services.
Childcare. We will make childcare available for the first (8:30) and last (11:30) service. You’ll need to sign up for this as well. The additional service does mean that we need help with volunteers for nursery. If you’re willing to serve in this area, please contact Liz Sherard or the church office.
It’s our hope that this will only be for a season. We’re all looking forward to being back in one room, together, at the same time. Until then, we will continue to offer the live stream for the immunocompromised. If you are at risk due to age or health, or if you have any symptoms, please stay home.
May God grant that we “be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:16-19).