Greetings! Time for a weekly update!
We have entered Phase 4 of the IGRC plan. With that, we will begin in person worship on July 5th for all three churches. Before I get to what is required as we return to in person worship, I feel I need to lead with a word of caution. We will only remain in Phase 4 as long as the Illinois Department of Public Health keeps our region in that phase. However, there are signs already that areas in our region may be seeing an influx of cases. If that happens, we may have to return to Phase 3. If that happens, we will need to return to online worship. My best advice is to continue to practice social distancing and be safe out there.
So, onto the things we need to know about returning to worship. We will need to practice social distancing. People will need to be seated six feet apart and everyone in attendance must wear a mask at all times. There cannot be any exception for mask wearing while in the building, unless you are either alone or far enough up front. It may then be removed for extended speaking while far enough up front but must be replaced again. There will not be congregational singing yet, and the conference is recommending not having any live music at this time. We also cannot pass anything between people. No shaking hands, passing the plate, hugs, etc. I will need to inspect the churches to make sure that everything is ready, including having seating marked. This will look a little different, but I am confident we can do it. There is also a special note that for those who are older, have a respiratory illness or injury, or have a compromised immune system, you are strongly encouraged to check with a health professional on if you should be out. I will continue to provide printed materials for anyone who wants them and am at least planning on having the sermon audio continue to be posted. This week marks the last planned video sermon. If you have any questions at all, please contact me! I’ll do what I can to help.
Annual Conference is an online only event on Saturday August 15th. Please contact me for more information. General Conference is going to be next year, and I will have more information about that later.
There are copies of the Upper Room available in Greenup in the box and at Cottonwood. You can also find the current issue online. The new Sunday school quarterly is also in the box for whoever is interested.
I will be continuing to have our worship services online and in print! A printed copy of the service including the weekly sermon will be available online and in print. The sermon audio will be uploaded weekly as well. If you’d like to be updated when it is available, it is on Spotify, Google Play, and iTunes. I will also post updates to the church Facebook pages every week. If anyone you know is not getting a copy and would like one mailed, please let me know. I am trying to get them mailed out weekly.
Also, in this time we are still working to keep the bills paid, our missions supported, our apportionments met, and our outreach working. As such, we do need your continued financial support as part of the church. Offerings may be sent to your local treasurer or to the PO Box listed below. I can also arrange to pick them up if I am delivering anything to you. I am personally grateful for all your continued support in this difficult time. I cannot stress enough that the church is still active and we are still together.
Please see the CDC website for information on the Coronavirus. If you do go out, please follow all distancing guidelines, and if you can, cover your face. Please let others know, and together we will all see this through safely. This is a very real and very serious pandemic. Please do not share false information about it. It only works to undermine the people doing the dangerous work of trying to keep us all safe. If you have any questions, I am happy to answer them or direct you to a source that can.
Please stay safe. You are all in my prayers. I will keep you updated as best I can. If you have any questions, feel free to contact your Church Council Chair or myself.
Rev. Cameron D St.Michael
(316)530-3182 (call or text)
PO Box 54, Charleston IL 61920