During the Covid- 19 pandemic we are currently worshipping outside on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. We ask that you contact the church office by email congochurch@comcast.net or phone (508-993-6676) by Friday at 3 p.m. and let us know that you plan to attend. We ask that you bring your own beach chair and wear a mask. Please pull into the church parking lot on Sunday morning and you will receive further instructions. We will be delighted to see you!
Please take your time and read this through thoroughly. A group of us have been busy preparing for the opening of the Church over the last few weeks and I wanted to bring you up-to-date on changes to the church services that will take place this summer.
Please remember if you feel uncomfortable about attending that’s OK, we will also be live streaming the service on Facebook live and also we will be sending out a link to you on Sunday if you do not have Facebook. Everyone will need to discern their own acceptable level of risk. Each person is different – some people may not want to meet in person until there is a Coronavirus vaccine. Others may be ready to return to worship as soon as possible. If you do not feel ready to meet in person please know that our church will honor and support your decision. It is not a reflection on your faithfulness.
Based on this guidance from the State and several other church organizations, we will only hold outdoor worship services for the summer 2020. If inclement weather is forecasted for Sunday morning, we will cancel the worship service and provide notice of the cancellation on the website, Facebook and on the church phone answering machine as early as possible but no later than 7:30 AM Sunday morning.
While our 9 AM church service will be similar it will be a little shorter (about 30 minutes) and we will not be singing, however there will be wonderful music.
If any of the following are true, you should not attend the in-person service
- Member or worker is experiencing any symptoms such as fever (100.0 and above) or chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, fatigue, headache, muscle/body aches, runny nose/congestion, new loss of taste or smell, or nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
- Members or worker has had “close contact” with an individual diagnosed with COVID-19. “Close contact” means living in the same household as a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, caring for a person who has tested positive for COVID- 19, being within 6 feet of a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 for 15 minutes or more, or coming in direct contact with secretions (e.g., sharing utensils, being coughed on) from a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, while that person was symptomatic
- Member or worker has been asked to self-isolate or quarantine by their doctor or a local public health official
Sunday Service New Details
First you will have to email the church office at congochurch@comcast.net by 3 pm on the Friday prior and let them know you are coming. Please include your contact phone number in your email. This does two things: 1) we will need to keep track of who is coming to the service (contact tracing) and 2) we have limited our service to 40 people (at least for now).
Please enter through the main driveway through the parking lot. We are going to ask you to bring your own chairs (beach chairs will work just fine) Everyone must wear a mask to attend the church service. On the welcome table, which will be set up on the lawn as you enter the church service grounds, there will be the following:
o Hand sanitizer and paper towels
o Face masks
o Offering plate
We will ask you to remain in your car, an usher will direct you to move to the church service area. If you are walking, enter through the parking lot and wait for the usher to direct you into the church service area.
Attendance at the service will be taken by an usher. You will be asked for the name of a contact person in your group, his/her phone number and the number of people in your group.
Parishioners will be directed to their area as they enter. At the end of the service please wait and an usher will direct you to leave while allowing social distancing.
We will NOT be gathering for refreshments and please no socializing in the parking lot. Our church building will be closed to everyone.
Thank you, Reopening Team