Back in the Sanctuary!

First I want to thank you all for your patience as we have been working our way through these extraordinary times. Even the phrase "extraordinary times" has lost a lot of its meaning the longer we have been dealing with our current crisis.

​I do have good news! The Governor has moved Missouri into Phase 2 of its reopening starting on June 16th.

What that means is that most things are moving to fully reopen. The Governor has removed the restrictions that he placed before. However, he is still recommending that everyone maintain social distancing, especially in large and/or congested groups.
​
What does this mean for us?

The first thing is that we will still be outside this Sunday June 14th. We will be having ONE service at 9am. We're doing this to maintain needed precautions, avoid the heat, and continue to experiment with other ways of doing worship. We will continue with social distancing (6-10ft between family groups), and wearing masks.

The next thing it means is that we will be back in the Sanctuary on June 21st. To continue with social distancing needs, we will still be having two in person services at 9am & 10:30am, as well as continuing with our online service. We will reevaluate this later in July to see if we return to a single service, or continue with two services on Sunday morning.

As a special part of our service for June 21st we'll be celebrating communion! It won't be like anything we've done before, but it will be a time to celebrate together.

On June 16th we will be opening back up for small groups and Sunday School classes to meet. In order for them to do that they will need to maintain social distancing, and wear masks. This may mean moving classrooms around, and that is something that we can make happen. Each group and leader can make that decision how they want to procede.

We're also making plans for a special Graduation Sunday in July. That will be a Sunday when we will have one service outside so that we can all celebrate together. More details will come out as we have them put together.

Again, thank you all for your patience. We're making progress, and we are coming through. On a personal note, I'm looking forward to what we will be doing in the future and how we will be living out our calling to be a community of faith in a changed world. With God's help, I know that we can do it together.