Pastor Kory's Update
Hello everyone,
Thank you all for helping us with the regathering survey. The information we have received is useful for us as we seek to discern the best ways for us to regather as a church. As a Regathering Committee, we have reached two conclusions that we are now able to implement.
First of all, July 19 will be our first live stream of our worship service. We will not have a gathered audience for this first live streamed Sundays as we need to become more confident with the technology and make sure that we have all the safety precautions in place. Having a gathered congregation for the worship service will come down the road, but this is a step in that direction. Additionally, the live streamed worship service enables us to address some of the feedback that we received in the surveys. For example, we will be able to eventually involve more people and use various creative aspects to the worship service.
Secondly, we will have in-person Bible studies starting next week. We have divided the Bible studies by age so that we can limit the numbers and protect our older members who are the most vulnerable to the virus. The "Under 65" Bible study will be held on the outdoor patio at 7:00pm on Wednesday, June 24. The "Over 65" Bible study will be held on the outdoor patio at 9:30am on Tuesday, July 7.
During this pandemic, we continue to be concerned about the health and safety of our church family but also recognize the importance of growing in the Lord together and in fellowship. For the time being, the following health and safety precautions will be required for all in-person gatherings at the church:
The wearing of face coverings
Physical distancing of 6 feet between individuals
Cleaning and disinfecting of meeting areas before and after
Limited attendance according to general age group
No shared items (no food, no shared Bibles, programs, etc.)
Taking of attendance and contact information for contact tracing
Request that the following people refrain from attending: those who have been sick, running a fever, recently exposed to someone infected with COVID-19 or are immunocompromised.
We appreciate your help in observing these precautions. Please let the church office or a member of the Regathering Committee know if you have any questions.
More regathering steps will be given when we have reached more conclusions. As the pastor, I hear from many who are concerned about health risks for when we gather together. I also hear from many who are eager to meet now. We respect all the feedback that we are receiving and hope to make wise choices that will keep us all safe and give us the opportunity to receive spiritual support from one another. May we all continue to pray for God's guidance.
God bless,
Pastor Kory on behalf of the Regathering Committee
(Pr. Darren, Pr. Yasu, Bob Smith, Andrew Todd, Nao Kawasaki, Audrey Sakamoto, and JR Houn)
