Questions Your Church Should Answer
Before People Return Edited for Longwood and Range Line Members and Elders from Ken Braddy, “24 Questions Your Church Should Answer Before People Return Initial Questions 1. How many people in your community are in the at-risk category? How does that impact your planning? 2. How will you communicate clearly that deciding to stay home is an appropriate and respected decision? 3. What is the air circulation situation in your building/sanctuary? 4. Is a simple majority decision by the session enough to move forward with re-opening the building and resuming in-person programming? Or would it be beneficial to determine that a two-thirds majority or unanimous decision is necessary to move forward? 5. What plans will you have in place if the pastor or a member of the church tests positive for COVID-19 after you begin gathering? 6. How will you be intentional and gradual about adding activities according to your congregation’s ability to maintain Covid-19 related precautions? Worship What plans will you have in place for gatherings of up to 25 people? 50 people? 100 people? 1. Masks are required to be worn. What will you do if someone arrives without a mask? 2. Every-other row (or two rows, if needed) roped off. 3. Tape on pews / chairs to indicate where to sit in order to maintain social distancing. 4. Multiple services, even in smaller congregations, or dividing the attendance into appropriately sized groups that are assigned Sundays to attend in person. 5. Doors and windows remain open for the entire gathering, even in inclement weather, with gloved volunteers stationed at all doors. 6. Continue virtual worship. 7. No printed bulletins: use PowerPoint if available or have liturgist “call out” the service. Email bulletins in advance and invite people to print their own or bring them on mobile devices. What adjustments will you make to the Lord’s Supper, baptisms, and your choir ministry? 1. Are these elements essential to worship if they increase the risk to those who have gathered? 2. If the session decides to include any of these elements, what precautions will be taken to minimize risk? Lord’s Supper 1. All communion by intinction; no passing plates. What other adjustments will you make to ensure that those holding the elements are protected? How will you manage the flow of people coming forward so they maintain social distancing? 2. Bread and cup that are broken and poured are symbolic only, not used to serve the people. 3. Communion servers provide individual pieces of bread with tongs or while wearing gloves; only the servers touch the bread. 4. The cup is given with the small, individualized, plastic glasses. Baptisms 1. Have parents/guardian hold the child and distribute the water. 2. Pastor proclaims the Trinitarian formula as the parents apply the water to the baptized. 3. Extended family is not invited forward so the number of people at the font are limited. How do we take up the offering? 1. There should be no passing the plate: place an offering plate at the sanctuary exits (as in Calvin’s Geneva), or a single person handle. 2. Continue online offerings. 3. Intensify promotion of online giving. Should you make other adjustments to allow for social distancing? 1. Churches with small or normally full sanctuaries may need to take additional precautions to limit the number of people who are present at one time. What is the safe number of people for your space based on social distancing guidelines? What will you do if more people than that safe number arrive for worship? 2. Do you have the capacity to offer more than one service each Sunday? If so, how will that that extra level of commitment and energy be offset by reducing other commitments during the week? Will you continue offering virtual online worship? 1. Yes, this is a good idea, as some will feel safer staying home and as the online community has grown during this time. 2. Sessions will need to consider how they will help balance the pastor’s job duties to allow them sufficient time to continue providing online worship. Christian Education What are the risks associated with offering children’s church? 1. Can you assure families that children will be protected while in a separate and usually smaller space? 2. Is this an opportunity to explore multi-generational worship in order to ensure the health and well-being of everyone in the congregation? What’s your plan for Sunday School curriculum? 1. Utilize online resources or distribute PDF versions of curriculum, especially for children. 2. Distribute PDF materials and/or links to Facebook, YouTube, or other online links to youth and adults. Schedule online opportunities for Christian education for all age groups. Are you canceling camps and VBS, or delaying them until later this summer? 1. Consider virtual opportunities to offer this programming. 2. Let the health and well-being of volunteers, visitors, and children guide decisions around delaying or canceling group activities that usually have a lot of interaction. For instance, how do you have a Vacation Bible School craft station where each child only touches the craft supplies they need and everyone is practicing social distancing? 3. Plan for next year with the understanding that we may still need to be asking these questions. Are you going to host other activities, meals, or special events? 1. Should be conducted using the CDC guidelines for attendance capacity (e.g. 10+, 50+, 100+) and conform to the same rubrics for best practices (e.g. wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, etc.) as are followed for a worship service. 2. If the guidelines or rubrics cannot be followed, events should be cancelled. What are you going to do about larger group gatherings? 1. Larger group gatherings should continue to be held virtually until guidance from the CDC shows that such gatherings would not contribute to a spike in infections. 2. When larger gatherings are deemed advisable by the CDC, consider moving them into a larger space such as the fellowship hall. Fellowship and Pastoral Care Are you continuing to provide coffee hour? What about fellowship time before and after services? 1. Are these elements essential to the community if they increase the risk to those who have gathered? 2. If the session decides to include any of these elements, what precautions will be taken to minimize risk? Property and Administration What are you doing now to sanitize and sterilize your church building? What’s your strategy to clean and sanitize your church in real time? 1. “Cleaning Teams” need to be established to sanitize all rooms before and after every gathering. 2. Members of cleaning team should roam the area and/or be stationed at key points of contact (e.g. doors, stair rails, etc.). 3. What plans will you have in place as other groups resume use of the building? What policies regarding building use will you require that they follow to provide for proper cleaning and social distancing? |
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