TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I write this letter with equal amounts of joy and apprehension. Joy, because
we will meet face-to-face this weekend for the first time in a long time. Apprehension, because my greatest fear is the news article that reads, "75% of those in attendance that day have now tested positive, two have died, and one is in critical condition. When we contacted the pastor, Aaron Schellhas, ________." I don't want to know how that line ends. These are the things that keep me up at night.
As the pastor (shepherd) of Immanuel my job is to love and protect the sheep under my care. This season has been one of the most exciting and most difficult of my ministerial life. To balance decisions with the care and wisdom of a shepherd and a generosity that reflects the life-giving presence of Jesus has proved to be challenging to say the least. On the one hand, my natural impulse is to give you the desires of your heart; on the other hand, it’s not easy to know when to say no in love is the wisest course of action.
Therefore, I along with our elders have adopted the plan of action outlined below.
Please keep me and all pastors who are struggling with how to balance our love for their sheep with yes's that will be yes and no's that will be no, always delivered with equal amounts of truth, grace, and mercy.
It is in the spirit of the above words this outline for the regathering of Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church is written.
God’s peace to you!
Pastor Aaron
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PLAN OF ACTION FOR REOPENING
We have now reached the time to carefully return to our Temple space and begin services inside our sanctuary starting the weekend of June 6 & 7 at our traditional times. All of our gatherings will be held on an interim basis, with an abundance of caution, and with the aim to slowly and intentionally move toward what will become the new normal.
We Will Regather Biblically
We will conduct ourselves as the New Testament Christians we claim to be. It is not a matter of
whether
or not the church should gather. It is a question of
how
the church will gather responsibly and safely. We will seek always to approach one another with a posture of grace and care.
Key biblical verses to consider: Psalm 133:1, Romans 14:1, 1 Corinthians 8:9, Romans 12:1, James 1:19, Philippians 2:3, Ephesians 4:1-3
We Will Regather Gradually
- Our initial return to in-person worship will be 5 PM on June 6 and 9 AM on June 7.
- After the first weekend of services, we will reevaluate and make adjustments.
- Online access to our in-person services will be available for those not yet able or comfortable to attend in person. Please be patient as we figure out the technical details of transitioning to a live streaming format that will also allow playback.
We Will Regather Safely
As we restart in-person gatherings there are several critical considerations to protect the health and safety of those attending worship. We request your assistance in complying with the following guidelines:
- Complete a self-wellness check prior to attending worship. If you are not feeling well, simply do not attend church.
- Take your temperature. If your temperature is 100.4 or higher do not attend church.
- Also, if you have a cough, body aches, shortness of breath, sore throat, recent loss of taste or smell, or chills, do not attend church. In addition, you may want to seek medical attention.
- All parishioners will be required to wear masks that cover the nose and mouth, and will be strongly encouraged to use provided hand sanitizer before entering the sanctuary.
- The church building will be opened just 15 minutes prior to each service and be closed 10 minutes after. Participants in the service will be ushered in and out in an orderly fashion, observing social distancing.
- The sanctuary will be set-up to facilitate social distancing of a minimum of six feet per the CDC guidelines. Families will be allowed to sit together.
- Several practices which will be suspended until further notice, including sharing of the peace, congregational singing, children’s ministry, and distributing bulletins. Congregational recitation will be extremely limited, and the offering will be collected in a plate as we enter the sanctuary.
- For the foreseeable future, fellowship will be encouraged to take place only outside the church building, weather-permitting.
- The limited number of areas available to the congregation during these times will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after each gathering.
Many hunger for the Lord’s Supper, a beautiful and essential part of our life together. The process for serving this holy meal in its traditional form presents many challenges from a health and safety perspective. To start, Holy Communion will be handled outside of our normal worship times, in small groups and by appointment only. More info will follow.
Our prayer is that we walk together as God’s people, loving Him and loving the people He has placed in our lives, looking out for one another, and being constantly shaped into the best version of what the church can and should be. Many things have changed, but our mission (making disciples of Jesus), our spaces (Temple and Table), and our relationships (Up-In-Out) have not. May God continue to grant us grace, peace, and a willingness to speak the truth in love as we discover His direction for our community.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Aaron, Jerry Vrshek, Bruce Bechtel,
Jim Bubeck, Marty Olsen & Nick Whittier
