Instructions For Covid19 Sanctuary Worship and Sunday School

Taylorsville United Methodist Church Opening for In-Building Services

Due to the recent events concerning the status of COVID-19, I reached out to the re-entry team to get their opinion on opening the church to in-building services again. On Monday, February 22, 2021 the Re-entry team and Church Council unanimously voted to move worship back into the church sanctuary effective Sunday, March 14, 2021.

Two major reasons were pivotal in coming to our decision; first, the statistics are showing vast improvement in all the areas we measure – positivity rate of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths, all those rates have dropped dramatically over the last two months. The second reason is the percentage of folks in the church who have received at least one vaccination and many who have received both immunizations, resulting in a much lower risk level.

The information below will look familiar. They are the guidelines we used when we opened up last October and nothing much has changed from that time. When we closed in December, we were holding two services; however, we will only be having one service at 10:00 a.m. with this reopening. A determination at a later date will be made to see when it is feasible to move back to two services. Also, effective on March 14th will be the resumption of Sunday School for adults and kids in the education building and the social hall in the basement of the church. See schedule and guidelines below:

Sunday School classes will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at approximately 9:45 a.m.

Children’s Sunday School: Education Building–Children’s Sunday School room

Adult Sunday School:

Class One – Facilitators – Steve Novick/Jeff Taylor – Education Building – Dining/Living Room Class Two – Facilitator – Dee Haines – Church Social Hall

Information on class curriculum will be communicated by facilitators.

Worship Service (only one service until further notice)

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Location: Church – Sanctuary

Guidelines

Both parking lots are available for parking. Park where you will, there are no requirements for parking lot spacing.
Hand sanitizers are located at the front door to the sanctuary, Education Building and the office door. When entering in any one of those three areas, please use the sanitizer.
Attendees are required to wear masks. One will be supplied, if needed.
Bulletins will be sent out electronically in advance. A printed version at the back of the sanctuary will be available and will also be displayed on the TV in sanctuary. Bulletins will have been printed several days in advance to ensure there is no chance of contagion. Taylorsville United Methodist Church Opening for In-Building Services March 2021 Taylorsville United Methodist Church a e Page 2 Guidelines-continued
When entering the sanctuary, an usher will greet you and, if necessary, will assist you to a seat. Physical distancing spacing will be displayed by yellow markers on back of the pews.
No singing is allowed, but music will still be part of the service.
If you want a Bible, bring you own from home. (All Bibles have been collected from pews.)
Communion will be held, as it was in the parking lot. It will be on the first Sunday of each month and you have the option of bringing your own elements or partaking of the elements that will be provided by the church.
Giving can be placed in the offering plates on the shelves in the back of the sanctuary.
Attendance will continue to be taken to comply with tracking regulations.
Restrooms will be available, but will not be able to be cleaned between usage.
At beginning and ending of service, socializing should be kept to a minimum and on nice days moved outside.

These guidelines were put in place, not only to comply with recommendations from the conference and state, but for you and others attending church to stay safe and healthy.

Live streaming of the service will be discontinued. This decision was made because of copyright issues which have arisen more frequently due to the music used in the service.

For those of you who cannot attend in person, do not worry, the service is being recorded in its entirety and will be posted for viewing on the website, within an hour or so after the service has ended. You will probably be able to access the recording by noon each Sunday.

Please remember to continue giving by mail if you cannot attend in person.

We want to state firmly that your pastor and church leaders are taking every precaution to ensure your safety. We want you to feel comfortable with the decision to return to church inside the sanctuary. If you have any questions, please contact the church by calling 410-875-4101 or emailing TaylorsvilleUMC@comcast.net. We will do our best to address your concerns.

Our God is an awesome God and we hope you can join us in the sanctuary on March 14th and remember that is the same day daylight savings time begins. Let this be our final move so we can worship the Lord every Sunday in our sanctuary and celebrate His Glory.

May the peace and love of Christ be with you – Pastor Patty Robinson