Plans for Moving onto Stage Three of Re-Entry….
Before the COVID pandemic, you had a groove.
Hopefully, the three steps to not burning up on reentry are helpful as we reenter this post-pandemic world.
Step One: Be ready for round 2.
Step Two: Count the costS. (Cost’s are always plural)
Step Three: Reorient often.
Over the next few weeks, we will be doing a series I’m calling Finding Your New Grove. This is something every individual, family, and group will have be doing in the weeks and months to come and the Bible gives guidance on this.
In my lifetime Promise, and every other Church in America, has thought about individuals when it comes to attendance. Biblically this wasn’t the case. In Hebrew (Genesis – Malachi) what counted was “beith” or house. In Greek (Matthew – Revelation) it was “oikos” or family. These were blood and non-blood relationships. This very old / very new understanding of family has been seen as we socially distanced — I’m calling it a Home Team. For some your Home Team was your nuclear family — mom, dad, and 2.4 kids. For others Home Team included grandparents —even though at night they slept in a different house they were over most days. In some cases two smaller families joined together for social distancing to form a Home Team. Maybe right now, your “Home Team” is just you.
During Finding Your New Groove (May 17- June 7), as Promise tries to find our new groove, we are going to be thinking in Home Teams. We believe the best way to physically gather right now is seated as Home Teams, around tables. To keep social distancing in our space, and still make everything visible, we can accommodate 18 Home Teams (14 with a 6 person maximum and 4 with a 4 person maximum) at a time. Only one person per Home Team will need to register for a table.
We will be entering through the door under the awning and exiting through the doors by the office. Masks will be required when moving in the building; However, once everyone is seated and worship begins, they may be removed for the service. Although the distribution means will be different, communion will be served at every in-person service.
There will be a hard cap of 18 Home Teams per service. Home Teams must register online to ensure a table. We are prepared to add a service, if and when we need it, to accommodate the whole Promise Family and honestly, I’d love to see us get there in the next couple weeks.
Throughout this Finding Your New Groove both the 9:00 am and 10:30 am services (with the exception of communion distribution) will be held on ZOOM as well as in person. The sermon will be streamed on facebook and instagram. Additionally, for those who desire communion but are unable to attend one of the larger Sunday Services 10 person max/15-20 minute communion service will be held at 8am and again at noon in the Barn
(preregistration is required).