Reopening Plan
Great news for all St. Andreans. We are reopening the church for
in-person services. The first service will be on Pentecost Sunday
(Whitsunday), May 23, a day of celebration.
If you are not comfortable coming to church, please do not come.
We will livestream the service (and post the recording) for those who
want to view it online.
The Vestry has been working to be sure that we have a safe reopening.
We are following CDC, state, and our Bishop’s guidelines for safe and
healthy church gatherings. To that purpose, we are writing to give you information on how we will hold our service. You will notice that most things will be familiar, but there will be some temporary changes as we work through the pandemic.
In following the now familiar CDC guidelines, we are asking everyone to:
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Wear a mask.
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Don’t come to church if you feel ill.
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Keep social distance (6 feet apart).
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Don’t shake hands or hug during the Passing of the Peace. Wave and know everyone is smiling!
To help keep us safe, the Vestry has adopted the following procedures during our upcoming services:
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We will have a reservation system for attendance at services. (You will receive a separate note that tells you how to do this.) In order to keep our distance, we may need to limit attendance.
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Everyone should enter through the front doors. If you need the elevators, then please use the Ellerbe entrance.
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Ushers will help seat people. We have marked the pews to keep social distance.
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There will be an alms basin for collecting pledges and other contributions. We won’t “pass the plate” or have an offertory.
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We will not have service bulletins. Feel free to print out an order of service, or follow on your phone or pad device. (Hopefully, this directive will change soon.)
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We ask that congregants not sing or chant during service. We will have a limited choir to help lead the service. We may say responses during the service.
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If the service is the rite of Holy Communion, the priest will walk through the church, passing out the host to members who should remain in their pews. We will not use a chalice; no wine will be shared.
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Ushers will dismiss congregants after the service by rows. This will help to keep people from getting too close together. Please continue to move outside, so that others may also leave the church.
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We won’t have a coffee hour, Adult Forum, children’s church or daycare yet. These will all come as guidelines are loosened.
As we think you will see, our regathering service will be very familiar. We have made some changes to keep us all safe as the pandemic (hopefully) winds down. As guidelines change, we will change the service and other activities to reflect those changes.
We hope to see everyone at the Feast of the Pentecost.
Visit this link to reserve your seat: Reserve My Seat
The Vestry
