June 16, 2020
Dear KUMC Family,
I know you all are eager to reunite in person again, so I’m happy to report some great news! With the support of Conference, Leadership Team, our Staff and Church Council we will begin gathering for Worship starting this Sunday—Father’s Day Sunday!!
For over a month, our ReLaunch Team, Staff Team, Leadership Team and Church Council have been planning for our safe, sanitary and spacious return to in-person gatherings. (Click on this link to find our Healthy Community Guidelines.) These are guidelines to help us as we reengage in in-person gatherings. These guidelines are not static, but flexible and could change at any point that things change with the COVID-19 Virus.
You will notice that we have moved through most of phase 1 and are entering into phase 2 where we will reengage in in-person worship. For the first couple of weeks, worship (and a nursery) will be the only event taking place in the building and on-line worship will always be available. Please understand that while this worship experience won’t be what we’re used to, it is progress towards the services we know and love. Additionally, some groups, such as children and youth ministries, will begin to meet in-person.
Precautions for worship will include:
The wearing of masks for adults and older children
Very limited congregational singing, if any
Shorter services
No passing of offering plates. Offering containers are located at entrances/exits
Changes in how communion is celebrated
Touchless greeting
Socially distanced seating
This progress may seem slow, but it’s worth it to fulfill our Wesleyan commitment to “do no harm.”
Once we have developed a safe and practical worship experience, we’ll open up spaces for adult Sunday schools to reconvene on Sundays. We are targeting July 5th for Adult Sunday School classes to resume. However, each class will determine and notify the church office when they have determined the right for them to resume.
While this is certainly a new way to do church, I hope we can meet this new adventure with excitement and open minds. As we have said time and time again, the church is not the building, it’s the people. The most important thing for us to do during this time is to remain connected as we guide each other through these phases. Each one is a milestone worth celebrating, and in the end, our care and precautions will only bring us all back together sooner.
Thanks again for keeping the faith.
Pastor Jeff
My cell phone number is (386) 288-4487 and my email address is jrtate22@gmail.com.
