Protocol Changes for Worship Services Starting May 30, 2021

UPDATES TO PROTOCOLS
STARTING MAY 30, 2021

Our Leadership Team has been working on responding to the new guidelines out of the CDC and the updates from Governor Baker's office (which can be found here and here) as they pertain to our Sunday morning worship services. Here's what the recent changes mean for us here at Community Church:

     (1)  The back few rows of the sanctuary will be reserved for those who want or need to continue wearing a mask and being socially distant. We have a number of immunocompromised people in our church family, some who are medically unable to take the vaccine, and others who will only be able to come if these precautions are in place somewhere in our facility. We didn't want to relegate this group downstairs to the Fellowship Hall or banish them to the balcony! The rearmost rows provide the safest location for this group, with no one behind them who might be singing unmasked, while remaining in the main sanctuary as full participants in our time of worship. If this is you, we welcome you! Come in and find a seat in these rearmost pews -- as you remain masked and sit according to social distancing standards.

     (2)  The remaining spaces in the sanctuary are mask-optional. For those of us who are fully vaccinated (two-weeks beyond the date of the second dose), masks and social distancing will no longer be required at Community Church. That includes both outside on the lawn and front steps, and also indoors in the sanctuary during the worship service -- even while we're singing together. The vaccines have demonstrated a high level of efficacy and the guidelines now allow us to return to pre-covid worship conditions! Come on in and sit near the front of the sanctuary!

     For those of us who are unvaccinated by choice, you are no longer required by state mandate to be masked or socially distanced, but the state is strongly encouraging you to maintain mask and distancing standards until more of the population can be vaccinated, especially while indoors in group settings. Whether you wear a mask or not, we welcome you! 

     (3)  We will also continue to livestream our worship services for those who cannot yet return to worship in person, and for those who feel that the relaxing of state guidelines and the removal of masks makes worshipping in person something with which they are not currently comfortable.

LIVING WITH GRACE

Through this next season, people will be making their own personal choices about whether to mask or unmask, and where to sit on a Sunday morning. Let's focus on celebrating this step towards a return to normalcy and extend grace to one another in terms of whether or not masks are being worn. Let's remember that we're trying to follow Jesus' example of putting others' needs before our own, so let's work to respect each other's decisions and make choices on Sunday mornings that offer encouragement, blessing, and continuing protection for those in our community who will benefit from it.

In all this, we're thankful and feeling optimistic about the next weeks and months as we look forward to worshipping together again in new (and old) ways!


The Community Church Leadership Team