A Message from the Minister’s Messy Desk
Dear Congregation,
Preparations for our in-person worship trial run on Nov. 1st are in full swing. We are going to start small with a maximum of 15 people (not including staff and ushers) so that we can work out any kinks as safely as possible. The formal guidelines are below and it is vital that everyone reads them before coming to church.
Please note that you must register for each week that you plan on attending.
Registration will open on the Wednesday morning and close on Friday at 11:30am for the following Sunday.
There are two ways to register.
If you have access to the internet you will be asked to go to our reopen.church link: https://reopen.church/r/G7rtRqfx
This link will also be sent out to our email list every Wednesday morning.
If you do not have access to the internet please call the office Wednesday-Friday morning to reserve a spot. We hope to give priority to those without internet access. Space is limited- please consider coming every once-in-awhile rather than every week so that others have the opportunity.
If the trial run on Nov. 1st goes well we will begin regular in-person services on Sunday Nov. 15th.
Please note that Nov. 8th is an on-line pre-taped service due to the fact that Mike and I are on holidays Nov. 2-9th.
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We are also offering a FLU SHOT clinic on Sunday Nov. 1st following the service. If you wish to receive a flu shot you must register separately by Oct. 29th either by going to our reopen.church link or by phoning the office. https://reopen.church/r/G7rtRqfx
Space is limited. Once you have registered you will receive a consent form that must be filled out beforehand. You must also bring your care-card.
There will be three ways in which you can receive your flu shot.
- If you have registered for both in person worship and the flu shot you will receive it immediately following the service.
- If you have registered for the flu shot only you can come to the church on Nov. 1st and listen to the service on your car radio then receive the flu shot once the first group has completed their shots.
- If you have registered for the flu shot and live close by you can come to the church immediately following the service and receive the shot upon your arrival.
Please do not leave you car until you have been called forward.
OTHER IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
I will be away on holidays Nov. 2-9. There will be a pre-taped service for Nov. 8th available mid-week on our YouTube channel. For any pastoral emergencies please contact
Angela Hope
We are looking for volunteers to be a part of our Building and Property Committee. The mission of this committee is to ensure that adequate care and maintenance requirements for the CVPC building and grounds are met. We are also very grateful for the work of Dave Sherstone who has served as chair for many years. His term as chair completes in January 2021. Please contact Dave if you have any questions.
Want to sing hymns?? We are looking for people to help us record hymns for our Sunday worship. Elvera has kindly recorded the piano for the November hymns so all you have to do is sing along into a microphone and Mike will record it! Please contact Rev. Jenn if you are interested.
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GUIDELINES FOR RE-OPENING In-Person Worship
With God’s help we continue to navigate unknown waters both as a society and as a congregation. As a Session we feel that the time is right to begin a trial of in person attendance at services. Our priority is to maintain safety for everyone involved by following the provincial guidelines.
Our first in person service of worship will be at 10:30 on Sunday, Nov. 1. We will then take a break for a week to evaluate how things went and if all goes well we will resume in person services on Sunday, Nov. 15.
Of course these services can’t look or feel like they did before COVID-19! So here are some changes to our usual procedures we’ll need to follow.
- We will need to maintain 2 metre distances at all times so our seating will be very limited. That means that you will need to pre-register in order to attend. You can pre-register by phoning the office by 11:30am on the Friday before or registering online. We will be giving priority to those who wish to attend who do not have access to the internet to watch the service on-line.
- When you arrive you come in through the front doors only. The doors will open about 15 minutes prior to the service. An usher will greet you with hand sanitizer and politely remind you to wear a mask. They will also ask you the usual COVID-19 questions that you get everywhere you go these days. Please maintain physical distance as you are entering and any time you are in the building. Another usher will check off your name on the pre-registration list. This will also help the Health Authority with contact tracing should that ever become necessary. If your name is not on the list we will ask you to enjoy the service from your car through the FM broadcast or to return home and watch it on-line.
- As you enter the hall through the front doors, you can place your offering envelope in the plates on the table, there will be no collection during the service, and place any prayer requests in the bowl. You must write out your prayer requests at home so that we don’t create a traffic jam or handle too many items.
- The chairs will be arranged with appropriate spacing and you can sit together with one other from your family bubble. The service will remain about a half hour long. The music may be pre-recorded. There won’t be any group singing, and may not include responsive readings or unison prayers. You could hum softly with the music under your mask. Once everyone is seated an usher will take photograph of the hall so we have a record of where everyone was seated, again an aid to contact tracing.
- At the end of the service you will be asked to remain seated until an usher indicates its your turn to leave so that we maintain physical distance. Everyone will leave by the back doors. We would ask that you continue to maintain physical distancing outdoors as well and not congregate in groups. We’ll have to wave our greetings to each other!
- The washrooms and kitchen remain closed as we do not have adequate cleaning abilities to open these up. Please keep all your personal belongings with you, including your coat.
We are not yet ready to begin offering Children in Worship, one step at a time!
You can of course continue to worship from home, watching the live stream of the worship service. You can also listen to the service from the parking lot on FM at 88.1.
We are one as God’s family and we care for each other, holding each other’s safety in our hands. As a Session we hope that this small step towards re-opening worship is an uplifting experience for you, but only participate if you feel safe and comfortable doing so.
Corinne Wester
Clerk of Session