Beginning May 16, you will have four options for worship each Sunday morning. You may stream the sanctuary service at 9:01, 10:00 or 11:00 a.m.. Or you may gather on the front lawn at 9:01 a.m. for an in person outdoor worship experience. Many of you have already told me how excited you are about gathering together and many are excited that our online worship will continue uninterrupted. The staff and leaders of the church have been collaborating for months on how to make this transition to live worship in a way that keeps folks safe, creates community and protects the vulnerable.
Worship on the Lawn in the summer is frequently the most well attended service of our three worship services. Attendance ranges from 150 to 225 and two summers ago we purchased more chairs to make room for more worshippers. This summer we have acquired additional speakers so that worshippers may space out across the lawn even further and still hear. When you arrive, greeters will welcome you and invite you to take your own chair from the rack and place it where you are comfortable, sitting with your family or friend group or socially distanced from others. Masks will be worn while moving around but once stationary you may remove the mask to sing and pray and visit and drink coffee. We will share the Lord’s Supper and we encourage you to bring your own bread and beverage but we will also have the sealed communion kits of bread/juice for all who wish to take one of those. During the offering you may text your gift, give online, or bring your check or cash forward to one of four stations to drop it in an offering box. Our fabulous trio of bass, soprano sax and piano will lead our music along with soloists and song leaders and you may sing along by accessing the words to the song on your phone through a QR code. Plan to come a little early to get a cup of coffee or a kid’s smoothie the first two weeks from the coffee cart, or stay afterwards and visit with friends. Some of the classes and small groups may want to meet in the tent. Childcare will be available for the small children during the service and kids may enjoy the playground.
After much prayer and thought, I believe this outdoor worship experience makes it possible for the most folks to experience a rich and meaningful worship experience. In the coming months, we know that more and more folks will be vaccinated and we are prayerful the health conditions will allow us to move indoors by late summer for all three services (sanctuary and chapel). We are in the process of investing in new cameras and technology that will enable us to have folks in the sanctuary worshipping in person while simultaneously streaming. Currently our film equipment only enables us to pre-record and edit.
I am grateful to all of you for your faithfulness, your patience, your longing to be church together. More than ever, I am inspired by the ways the Spirit of God is alive among us. I can’t wait to see you in person.
Grace and Peace,
