By now, all of our Mission Partners that live here in Texas have undoubtedly heard the news that, by Executive Order from our Governor, many of the restrictions that were put in place to address the Covid-19 Pandemic are being lifted beginning Wednesday, March 10, 2021. I am sure that has left some of you wondering what that means practically for our on-campus ministries and activities. So, I thought I would share with you what we know right now.
For starters, let’s be honest and acknowledge that March 10 will be the beginning of a recovery process for our community wherein businesses and organizations such as ours can operate more fully than before, and all of us can begin to move toward a more normal “routine of life” that has been disrupted for almost a year now. But it will be a process. It will take time. And we will remain committed to the health and safety of all who come to this campus.
That being said, here is our plan for beginning this process:
For weekly worship (Beginning Sunday, March 14)
- Masks will not be required. You, of course, always have the option of wearing a Mask if you choose. And we even recommend and encourage it if you or someone in your household is considered a “High Risk” candidate, especially if you/they are not yet vaccinated.
- We will not require you to sign in or have your temperature checked upon arrival on campus. We will still ask you to register online if you are planning on attending, but that is simply to assist us in forecasting how many volunteers we will need for child care, Faith Kids, etc. We will also still have personal sanitation stations at each entrance and HIGHLY encourage you to use them each time you enter or exit the doors.
- You will no longer be escorted to your seats or required to sit distanced from others. However, we will still provide a more distanced section for those who are “High Risk” or would just feel more comfortable remaining socially distanced while they worship.
- We will still use the individual Communion Packs for the time being. We have them, they do provide a more sanitary option for all of us, so we might as well use them until they are gone or we are ready to return to public distribution.
- We will still have only 1 in person worship through March 28 (Palm Sunday). This is really to enable us to schedule enough volunteers to serve in 2 weekly services again. We will return permanently to 2 weekly services [9 am (Classic) & 11 am (Contemporary)] beginning Easter Sunday (April 4).
For our School
While the Day School is a ministry of our Church, it is subject to State regulations that specifically govern child care centers such as ours. The Governor’s Executive Order did not supersede the State guidelines we have been operating under since reopening in the fall. Therefore, while we anticipate new guidance being issued soon as a result of the Governor’s order, until then we are committed to strictly following the safety guidelines we have effectively had in place since reopening. We will inform the Public when we are able to lift or modify these guidelines.
We are excited to be entering this season of new beginnings and recovery here at Faith. However, for the sake of our community and neighbors, let’s do this carefully, intentionally, and safely so that we remain part of the solution and a place where all feel welcomed and loved.
In Christ,
Pastor Rusty
