reopening instructions

Hi Valley Fourth Church Family. I’m speaking to you today on behalf of our Elders and Pastoral Staff about the opportunity for our church to have a limited reopening of worship in-person on Sunday June 7th. Last night our Elders and Pastors met to finalize the details for these services and I’m here to tell you about them. We know that these worship services will feel much different for a time until we return to more normal operations. We all miss the way that things used to be and long to return to normal. If you come on Sunday, please know that it will not feel “normal” yet. But we are grateful to have a chance to gather and worship in this way.

Before I get into the details of how this Sunday’s services will work, I do want to remind you of the need for you to stay home if you or someone in your household is sick. If you are sick or have recently experienced symptoms, you should stay home. And if anyone living in your house is experiencing symptoms, you need to stay home. This is called self-screening and we need everyone to take responsibility for themselves and their household to stay home if anyone is experiencing illness.

You also may decide to stay home if you are at higher risk. If you have children, you may decide that worship from home will work better for your family. Or if you are uncomfortable with the new regulations you may continue to watch from home as well. This is why we want to remind you about the continuing live stream of our worship service. At 10:30am on Sunday morning our worship service will continue to be live on YouTube and Facebook just as it has been in the last months. This is important to remember because you may decide to join us from home for any number of reasons.

So now we need to go over some important details about the Sunday worship experience

1. There will be two separate 1 hour services at 8:30am and 10:30am. Both of these services will be held in two separate buildings: The Worship Center and The Gym, and both will be limited to 50 people. After the Worship Center fills up with 50 people, we have a satellite service set up in the Gym building that can accommodate another 50 people. While not ideal, this will still allow people to worship together, and for that we are thankful. Our Elders and Deacons will be greeting you as you enter our services and will be happy to respond to any questions you have throughout the morning.
2. Masks are required to be worn. If you don’t have one they will be available at the entrance. There are exceptions for children under 2 and anyone who has a medical reason not to wear a mask. We know this is not desirable for some but we are still thankful for the opportunity to gather.
3. Maintaining distance from others will be part of the whole experience. Seating will be in every other pew, but households will be able to sit together. There will be signs and directions to help you in your seating. At this point, the lobby will not able to be used as a place to congregate and visit, but there will be plenty of freedom and opportunity to do so right outside the Worship Center and the Gym before and after the services.
4. Restrooms will be open and available but are limited to two people at a time.
5. If you have children with you there are a few things you need to know. We are not yet able to offer any childcare, so children will remain with their families during the worship experience. Parents are encouraged to keep their children close by them at all times. Parents may want to bring things to help occupy their children. We will provide some children’s writing activities and crayons for parents to pick up and use during the services.
6. We also want you to know that we have increased our sanitation levels and will do a full sanitation in between services.

One final area of instructions is related to Communion. We are planning to celebrate Communion together as a church this Sunday June 7th. There will be individual prepackaged communion packets with bread and juice available on the seats for both services and locations. This is safe way for us to celebrate Communion together as a church. If you plan to watch online, we encourage you to plan ahead to have bread and juice available so that you too can participate in Communion with us when we celebrate it together.

Colossians 2:6-7 reads: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” As Elders and Pastors, we are seeking to abound in thanksgiving in this time and looking forward to gathering together to be established in the faith. We hope you are too.
Whether you choose to join us for in-person worship on Sunday or join us live online, I’m looking forward to preaching from God’s Word and engaging with you. Please pray for Valley Fourth Church and our leadership as we navigate these unique times and continue to focus on our Mission of Making, Teaching and Sending Disciples For The Glory Of God.
God Bless You!