Sunday Morning Strength
It is time for kudos to someone you rarely see, Mark Eldridge. He has worked tirelessly over the past 5 1/2 months on this little project we call “live-streaming.” Remember when we had to go online overnight? The first Sunday, we put a phone on a tripod off to the side of the pulpit and hoped for the best. The next Sunday, we were able to use the audio from the sound board. That is a monumental shift in production and Mark Eldridge made it happen, along with expert advice from Greg Leslie. Mark has been instrumental in solving our initial audio problems and making sure that each Sunday, you can hear music and the spoken word. Truly, we couldn’t have done it without Mark. He deserves a standing ovation.
Beyond completely retooling an audio system built for a room to one we can use to deliver a live stream, he has been overseeing the installation of a new sound system. Spending countless hours with drawings of the sanctuary, conversations with experts to help us get it right, and matching paint colors so the speakers look good in our sanctuary — Mark has done it all. Last week, he helped with the installation of the acoustical panels. This week, our custom-designed speakers arrived and Mark is making sure they get mounted on the wall in the right place. A few weeks ago, Pastor Heather interviewed Mark about this process. I’m so glad Mark had a chance to tell the story of this project happening while we’ve been out of the sanctuary. You can see his passion and heart for this ministry. You can also see how blessed we are to have Mark’s expertise guiding us. It will still be a few more weeks before everything gets professionally tuned, but we are getting really close. Give a listen to Mark’s story.
Some of you are planning to return to the sanctuary this Sunday and we are excited to see you! As of yesterday, we had 59 of our 80 seats saved. If you still need to save a seat, use this link: https://bit.ly/faith-save-a-seat. Seats can be saved until 10:00 am on the morning of our worship service. Once you’ve completed the reservation, you should receive a confirmation email. If you need to cancel, the link to do that will be in the email you receive. Canceling is important because it frees up your seat for someone else who wants to attend. For the safety of all in the building, we have to be careful. If you aren’t feeling well, have been exposed to someone with COVID, or are in a vulnerable group, we encourage you to remain at home and worship online with us. We commit to keeping our online worship service strong and available each Sunday on our three channels: Facebook Live, YouTube, and our website.
For those planning to return to our building, here is what you can expect:
The sanctuary will open at 10:45 am.
There will be staff at the west and north doors by 10:30 am. They will direct you to the hand sanitization station and provide you a mask, if you don’t have one.
All the restrooms in the building are open. We ask that you use the sanitizing supplies provided to wipe down any surfaces you touch upon exit.
Water fountains are not open. No food or beverage is provided in the building. Personal beverages with a lid are permitted and encouraged.
The check-in desk will be located in front of the main entrance to the sanctuary. Please check-in and register your attendance when you arrive.
Once in the sanctuary, you’ll be asked to sit in pews that are marked with blue tape — and to keep 6 feet of distance between you and anyone not in your household.
There will be a lock box for your offering on the check in desk. It is clearly marked. You can place your offering there before or after the service.
We’ll have activity packets for kids on the check in desk. Only the clipboard needs to be returned at the end of service.
The room known as the Susanna Wesley Library has been remodeled to accommodate families with infants and toddlers. There will be space for three families at a time.
There will be no nursery, kids or youth activities on Sunday mornings during worship. Families will need to stay together.
Audio of the service will be available in the upper hallway in case kids need a change of scenery from their pew.
As Pastor Heather and I lead you in worship, we’ll ask you to participate as you feel comfortable. As long as you are wearing your mask, you are welcome to join in the responses, prayers and hymns.
When the service concludes, please exit to the parking lot before visiting with friends.
I really am excited that I’ll get to see many of you this coming Sunday. I’m excited to worship in the same space. Come ready to see what God will do and make room for the unexpected. Remember, we are building this plane as we fly it. You are an amazing congregation, always so willing to pitch in and do what needs to be done. I’m asking you to be generous to each other and to the staff as we figure this out together. We have to keep each other safe. It will be up to each person who comes on Sunday morning to make sure that happens.
Grace and peace to you,
