Can I (physically) come to church? (yes)
When I see members of Faith out in the community, a question I hear is “when are we coming back to church?” or "Can I come back to church?"
This is sometimes followed by a “church X has a full parking lot on Sundays.” I miss the days of full parking lots and a full sanctuary, too. However, that is not the only way to determine the vitality of our church.
Throughout the pandemic, Faith has averaged 500 online viewers a week. We have people joining our church that don’t live in Forest Lake—or even Minnesota. We are also diligent about why we aren’t rushing back—we care about each other and our neighbors.
As more people are getting vaccinated, the sanctuary is starting to have more people attend in worship on a regular basis. If you are comfortable attending, YES!, you can come to church!
You don’t need to sign up. You won’t go through a health screening—other than a sign on the door asking you not to enter if you have any Covid symptoms. You can sit where you’d like in the sanctuary—to give yourself as much space as you need to feel safe.
Door 1 and Door 6 will be unlocked to enter the building. We’ll still ask you to sign in for contact tracing, however, if we do discover that an attendee has tested positive, we will include a note in our weekly email about a general exposure or contact you directly if we believe you were a close contact.
We will continue to wear masks in the sanctuary as we monitor the latest recommendations from the state. Communion will be served in the sanctuary after the final dismissal (May 9th and May 16th). Kids are welcome to participate in a Mother’s Day craft during worship this week.
We are providing coffee between the two services (hopefully treats to come soon, but we’re taking baby steps) and you’re welcome to talk to friends or new faces in the lobby, or even take the conversation outside if the weather allows.
Our church leadership is so thoughtful in providing opportunities to safely return to the building for worship, small groups, and learning.
Sometimes, it’s helpful to see where we’ve been and what we have already done to make worship accessible.
On our timeline of significant things that have happened at Faith during the pandemic, our church has nimbly moved ahead safely while providing ways to come into the building. I am thrilled that so many powerful ministry stories continue to emerge as we are the church that is led by the Spirit to share God’s grace. Thank you for living out that vision!