It’s back to worship at Our Savior!
“I was glad when they said to me, “Let’s go to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1
We are happy that we can begin now to gather again on the weekends for “in person” worship at Our Savior. We can do this by observing four important safety standards used to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Good Christian stewardship means that we will take care of our bodies so that we can continue to serve the Lord and others. So we balance the risk of exposure to COVID -19 and the blessings and command of God to be in corporate worship.
The four pillars of the strategy that will help us reduce the risk of getting the virus when we go back to worship are —screening, hygiene, distancing, and masks.
Screening
At Risk
There are some at risk people who should seriously not consider returning to worship right now. That would include people 65 years and older and people of all ages with underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled, including: People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma
People who have serious heart conditions
People who are immunocompromised
Many conditions can cause a person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications
People with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher)
People with diabetes
People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis
People with liver disease
See https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-at-higher-risk.html
Before you attend worship, please self-screen for symptoms and stay home you have a symptom and seek medical advice. Do not come to church if you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Seek medical advice.
Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:
Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Fatigue
Muscle or body aches
Headache
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
This list does not include all possible symptoms. See: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
Hygiene
- Please bring your hand sanitizer to church. We will also have sanitizer available for use.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
The key, it seems, is washing or sanitizing your hands every time you go into and out of a group environment, and every couple of hours while you’re in it, plus disinfecting high-touch surfaces at least daily.
We will spray Viro Stat disinfectant on church surfaces after the services.
Hymnals will not be used to avoid cross contamination. The worship service will be printed in the bulletin. Please take the bulletin home. We will not reuse it for other services.
The offering plate will be at the entrance of the church so that it will not be passed through the congregation.
Distancing
Avoid close contact with people while in church.
We will seat worshipers from the front to back and dismiss from the back (entrance) of the church to the front to avoid crossing paths.
Put distance between yourself and other people outside of your home. If possible, maintain 6 feet (about two arms’ length) between those not in your household
Remember that some people without symptoms may be able to spread virus.
Do not gather in groups especially while in church.
Keep a minimum of four empty church chairs between yourself or household group.
Use the outside staircase to transition to the entrance of the church from S Kane St.
If possible, be sure only one person or household use the inside staircase at a time
One person or household in the bathroom at a time
Eliminate use of the fellowship hall
Keeping distance from others is especially important for people who are at higher risk of getting very sick.
Masks
We respectfully request that worshipers wear a mask while in church. If you are unable to wear a mask, please let us know before you come to worship. We want to encourage our members who may be hesitant to return to worship. We want them to know people will be wearing masks and are following high standards of safety.
Please bring a mask to church. There will also be masks available if you forget to bring yours.
You could spread COVID-19 to others even if you do not feel sick.
Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
The cloth face cover is meant to protect other people in case you are infected.
Continue to keep about 6 feet between yourself and others. The cloth face cover is not a substitute for social distancing.
We are singing hymns at this time under CDC guidance. This video and this article will also help explain the reasoning for masks. We will also shorten the service time to reduce the exposure risk over time. Here is guidance from Racine County.
The church windows and doors will be open for the free flow of air which also helps to reduce risk.
The Lord’s Supper will be celebrated at each worship service using the individual cups and by social distancing.
Register your Worship by Friday – We ask that you make a reservation for worship online through our church webpage or by calling the church office at 262 763-3281. Please tell us which service you will attend and the name(s) of those attending as well as those who request the Lord’s Supper.
Holy Communion Our Pastor will provide individual Holy Communion at church for those who for health reasons are unable to attend regular worship services. Call the church office at 262 763-3281 or email Sandy Sierszyn, Church Secretary at sandy.sierszyn@oursaviorburlington.com for an appointment.
For now, Adult Bible Class and fellowship time will be online. Check the church webpage for the class meeting schedule and times. Call the church office at 262 763-3281 to register your children for Sunday School.
Live and archived, online worship services will continue to be offered. The 10:45am service will be streamed live, recorded and then uploaded on Sunday afternoon.
This plan for getting back to worship is what we will be doing for now. Some things may be changed or fine-tuned as time goes on. We pray that as we learn more, and the virus slows down, some or many of these restrictions will be lifted.
For now though, we are excited to see you again!
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let’s go to the house of the Lord.’” Psalm 122:1
Blessings!
