Dear CGS Family –
We have several opportunities for you to consider on Sunday, August 9! We are going to offer our worship service in a live-stream format from the steps of CGS! Our intent is to make this accessible to our entire congregation in one of three differing ways, as personal circumstances warrant:
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Some of us will choose to participate from the CGS parking lot.
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Others will prefer to join the live-stream from home.
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And for others of us – for whom it proves difficult to participate in “real time” – a recording of the service will be posted on the CGS website.
These three options will be discussed in more granular detail below, but as you explore the particulars please remember: we are all experiencing the realities and impact of COVID differently. Choose in a manner that seems most worshipful to you, knowing that the choices your brothers and sisters feel comfortable with may be widely divergent from your own. We embrace that – and even celebrate it – within the body of Christ…
One request: When the progression of COVID-19 temporarily closed our church doors in March, CGS was forced to pivot sharply into the provision of different forms of worship and discipleship ministry. Similarly, the shift from video-taping to “live-streaming” presents a substantial additional challenge for us. We need your continued support and prayers in these efforts.
We trust that the following responses will provide answers to some of your specific questions regarding Sunday’s opportunities:
1) What are we doing this Sunday?
This Sunday, August 9, we will be hosting an outdoor drive-in worship service from the steps of our main sanctuary at 9:30am. We are live-streaming this service, so our intent is to start promptly. The video recording of this service will also be posted on our website, and thereby additionally accessible after the service concludes.
2) Why are we doing this, in this manner?
Out of Love. In humility. For the sake of those in our community who don’t know Christ, and have not seen His Gospel message of self-sacrifice consistently modeled...
Our federal, state, and local authorities have i) asked all persons to wear masks as appropriate, and have ii) asked all groups (who are not engaged in activities that directly promote the safety or economic well-being of others) to restrict the size and nature of their gatherings (10 persons indoors / 25 persons outdoors). The CGS leadership feels that these are not unreasonable burdens for Christians to shoulder…
So we are doing this – this form of “parking lot worship” – for the sake of the unchurched, whose eyes – and anxieties – now literally project downward upon us from across Garrett Road. Our new neighbors in Cresset Overlook – by figurative extension – represent a watchful Durham in this culturally polarized COVID moment...
3) Do I need to sign up for a parking space?
Alas – our parking lot was never designed as a sanctuary. Who knew…? Because of sight-lines and the desire to space our vehicles appropriately, we can only accommodate ~ 100 cars at present. To avoid turning away persons who would otherwise want to attend in their vehicles, we will send out a church-wide email once those 100 spots have been subscribed. Sign up here. View a schematic of the parking layout here.
4) How do I arrive and Where do I park?
All arriving vehicles will enter our sanctuary parking lot from the main (north) entrance on Garrett Rd (nearest the intersection with Pickett). The south entrance to our facility (nearest the intersection with 15-501) will be blocked off and inaccessible on arrival. Both access points will be open for departure. Be aware that an entirely new neighborhood -- Cresset Overlook – now exists directly across from our north entrance: be alert to these new traffic patterns as you exit….
Deacons and other volunteers will help guide you as you arrive (see this schematic). Our desire is to begin our service promptly at 9:30, so plan your arrival accordingly please. You will be directed to a specific parking spot, based on i) the time at which you arrive, and the ii) height-profile of the vehicle you drive. Higher profile vehicles will be parked towards the rear of the lot (“Down in front, please!”), in order to protect sight-lines for as many cars as possible. Humor us, while at the same time honoring your brothers and sisters in Christ who want to see and participate as well…
5) May I leave my vehicle and sit/gather outside instead?
Please don’t… That would undermine the spirit and rationale for this form of worship service (right, eh?). Bathroom access will of course be available, but only via the downstairs ground-level entrance at the back (east side) of the church, thru the doors that serve the elevator entrance (marked on this schematic). Masks are required inside for those accessing the bathroom facilities. The remainder of the downstairs area will not be accessible, nor will the stairs leading to the sanctuary.
6) What about my kids??!!
Be reassured: most of us were one too, once, … so we feel your pain. We know that kids get restless, and we are not going to be draconian. But we are also confident that those who choose to attend in cars know their children and their proclivities, and will make appropriate preparations within their vehicles for the hour-long service… Additionally, our Children’s Ministry has devoted tremendous energy and creativity towards this Sunday’s endeavor, and will be assisting you. Specific details were sent out in an email to parents last night. The playground adjacent to the nursery will – obviously – not be open.
7) Will the church facility itself be open?
No, with the exception of bathroom access, as noted above.
8) How will I hear the service in my car?
By one (or both) of two options: i) the service will be broadcast throughout the parking lot over an FM radio channel, as well as ii) over outdoor theater speakers. We will determine the most favorable FM broadcast band on the morning of the service (predicated on the atmospheric conditions that day), and announce it to you via an email update and over the theatre speakers in the lot itself. Expect the FM audio quality to be scintillatingly mediocre: the FCC prohibits us from using a robust transmission signal...
9) Who are those people? And why are they allowed to get out of their cars?
We have the joyous privilege of extending the sacrament of covenant baptism to the children of four families during this Sunday’s service. If some family members are unable to see well from their respective parking spots, we will accommodate them gathering briefly – albeit masked, and in small groups – near the outdoor sanctuary stairs.
10) What happens if it rains?
If rain arrives in modest degree, Pastor Chuck is committed to preaching from under an umbrella (conjure up Eric Liddell’s track-side homily in Chariots of Fire!). If, however, torrential rain is forecast, we may change our plans in advance of the service. Stay tuned.
11) What will the service be like?
It will feel odd, certainly. But it will also feel worshipful, we trust. It will be modest in length, as have been our previous broadcast worship services. We will participate from within our cars, but surrounded by members of our church family. We will celebrate the sacrament of infant baptism, which is a joyous communal affirmation of God’s covenant promises to His people. We will sing together. We will pray together. We will hear the Word preached. Amen!
Parting Thoughts:
We have acknowledged that this “parking-lot” worship service will feel unsatisfactory and a bit “odd” to many. And we -- together with you -- lament that reality. But we also enter this weekend rejoicing in God’s enabling provision! As Bob Burns often observes, we cannot yet do everything we would, but with God’s grace we will – this Sunday – do a little something… Ezra 3: 11-14.
Godspeed to you all –
Glenn Jordan
