On Sunday 5/24, the congregation of BBC will be allowed to resume in person worship! Join us at 9:30am and be prepared for some things to feel different (make sure to read the letter from Pastor Brian at the end of this announcement as it contains important additional information):
- The doors will open at 9:15am and families will be seated by the ushers in the Sanctuary, Fellowship Hall and Youth Room to ensure proper social distancing and current occupancy limitations.
- The service will still be live-streamed via YouTube to ensure that our more vulnerable families can still join us.
- There will be no nursery, child-care or Sunday school at this time. Families should sit all together in a single row and ensure that their children remain in this area.
- Please leave 3 empty chairs between family groups.
- You are encouraged (but not required) to wear a mask.
- Please be careful of the camera and additional wires that may be running through the facility as we work out the technology for this first phase of meeting together again.
- We will not pass offering plates. Please look for collection boxes near the back of the seating areas. (Online giving or mailing a check will continue to be good options for giving.)
- Please ensure that you are a good testimony to our neighbors by following the social distancing guidelines within our building and in our parking lots.
PLEASE PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER WHETHER YOU & YOUR FAMILY SHOULD RETURN TO IN-PERSON WORSHIP AT THIS TIME. THE ELDERLY AND THOSE WITH COMPROMISED IMMUNE SYSTEMS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONSIDER WORSHIPPING AT HOME, THOUGH YOU WILL BE MISSED!
Please take a moment and read the letter from Pastor Brian below. This letter outlines additional important information regarding the points above, as well as providing information on the restrooms, cleaning, dismissal, etc.
May 19, 2020
Church family,
We will resume public worship this coming Sunday, May 24!!
On Monday May 18th, Michigan’s Governor announced that the U.P. will reopen for business, effective Friday May 22. This reopening includes restaurants, bars, retail stores, and some office spaces. The primary criteria for these spaces is that they remain under 50% of their capacity, that customers maintain social distancing, and that face masks are encouraged. Under these stipulations we believe we have a plan that will work for Bethany.
Our primary goal is to be present together for our normal Sunday morning worship (Hebrews 10:25), while honoring God as we are subject to the government that He has established over us (Romans 13:1-7). We sincerely believe the strategy outlined below honors both of these commands:
- Service will be at 9:30am. 50% of the chairs will be removed from the Sanctuary which will allow us to seat approximately 140 individuals in the Sanctuary. There will be overflow seating set up in the Fellowship Hall with a live video feed provided, with the same spatial considerations in place. There will be additional overflow space available, as needed, in the Youth Room (Office Building).
- We will ask family groups to sit together in one row, keeping at least 3 empty chairs between each family group.
- We will only enter and exit through the main doors and the bell tower entrance. All other entrances are for emergency use only.
- The doors will remain closed to the congregation until 9:15am. At that time ushers will open the doors. Please follow the instructions that they have for you.
- When interacting with others in the Sanctuary and the parking lots, please honor the social distancing recommendations. (This is a matter of testimony to our neighbors!)
- A mask will not be required, but will be encouraged, especially for those who fall into the more vulnerable category.
- There will be no nursery, child-care, or Sunday School until we feel it is safe to reestablish these ministries.
- Parents will need to keep their children with them at all times in their appointed seating area before and after the service.
- Offering plates will not be passed – a box will be available in the back of the both service locations for your offering.
- We will continue to stream the service on YouTube for those who feel it necessary to remain at home.
- Knowing little children will be in the service, we will shorten our service duration to approximately 60 minutes.
- Restroom access will be limited to one person at a time.
- We will dismiss each row after the service concludes and leave through the same doors we entered.
- Each week our cleaning crews will thoroughly disinfect the facility. All unused portions of our facility will be sealed off until restrictions lift and we can reestablish their use.
Please be patient with us as we figure this out, our policies may change from week to week. The building will likely feel different with rearranged chairs, extra camera gear and wires around our facility. In time, adjustments will continue to be made, and these factors will improve.
If you have questions about our reopening, please email the church office at bethany@bbcinchrist.org.
In Christ,
Pastor Brian Knight