Phase 2 Begins
This week feels like a real shift as we prepare to bring people back into the building. We are now in Phase 2. We’ll have three Sunday School classes meeting in larger spaces each Sunday to allow for social distance and safe interactions. This will necessitate a change in our Sunday morning schedule. Our online worship service will move to 11:00 am and groups will be meeting at 10:00 am as of this Sunday, June 14.
We haven’t set a date for Phase 3 to begin yet, but anticipate mid to late July. Moving our worship service time to 11:00 am allows for consistency in our next phase (Phase 3) of re-entry:
9:00 am Traditional Worship in Sanctuary
10:00 am Groups & Sunday School Classes
11:00 am Contemporary Worship in Sanctuary
We are full steam ahead on installation of a new sound system and a new remote-control camera system. This is an important upgrade ensuring our ability to provide a quality live stream experience while offering a quality in-person experience for worship. Re-entry to the sanctuary will depend on the timeline of this installation as well as decisions around what is safe during the 10:00 am hour. We are currently working through how we will run kids & youth programs on Sunday mornings, as well as whether it is safe to provide nursery care. We are following up with our previous Sunday morning teams to see which persons are ready to come back and help with our new team needs. We are evaluating how to keep our office area safe and whether we can host groups in the building mid-week or not. There are many considerations. Take an early look at our re-entry expectations for Phase 3. Just remember, this is somewhat tentative and subject to change.
One thing you can do to help us be ready for Phase 3 is sign up for our new Sunday morning teams:
Seating — this team will seat those arriving for worship, making sure we keep six feet of distance between household groups.
Disinfecting — this team will work during the hour in between worship to disinfect the sanctuary and other high touch surfaces around the building.
Entry — this team will hold doors open, provide masks & hand sanitizer, make sure everyone signs in, and answers questions about safety protocols.
We have a lot more work to do in defining these roles and providing training for all who can help. If you want to help, please click this link and respond in this short form. Or, send an email directly to me (cgwartney@faithtulsa.org) and I’ll mark you down. I am grateful for everyone’s “can do” spirit so far. For those who need to stay safer at home, you’ve let me know you intend to stay connected through our online offerings. For those ready to be back in the building doing life together in person, you’ve stepped up with enthusiasm. Please know I appreciate every single response. Let me hear from as many of you as possible so our planning can be productive in the next few weeks.
Many of you will be excited to know we are planning another outdoor worship service. We heard the comments you gave us about heat and the barrier it posed to your participation. So, we’ve planned our next outdoor worship experience for Sunday, July 5, 8:00 am. We will offer a live stream service at 11:00 am that Sunday on all three of our channels for those who need to stay safer at home. For those who want to join in person, please use the neighborhood (back) entrance to our parking lot on the north side of our property. We’ll gather on the west parking lot facing the building. We’ll sing, read scripture and pray together. Bring your lawn chairs and remember, the building will not be open, so please plan accordingly.
I’m excited about worship this Sunday. We’ll continue our sermon series about the origins/beginnings of faith masters. This week, we look at the beginnings of King David. I’ll focus the sermon on his anointing. That story is found it 1 Samuel 16:4-13, if you want to look it up. Here is a short summary of David’s life from National Geographic. You have to give your email address if you don’t have an account, but the article is worth it. Gives some important background I won’t be able to cover in Sunday’s sermon. I’m going to focus on key moments in our lives that both root us to our identity and call us to be more. I invite you to consider what key moments serve this purpose in your life. And, if you know someone who is curious about faith, or even skeptical, invite them to join us. I think this sermon will offer an invitation to the power of story in the scripture.
I’m also excited to tell you about partnerships for Christ-centered service opportunities. One partnership you’ve heard about before and the other might be new to you.
Faith will be hosting Family Promise (an effort among congregations to house homeless children and their families) during the week of June 28-July 5. In response to the pandemic, the families have been staying at the Family Promise Center (3916 E. 31st St. Tulsa, OK 74135). Host congregations have prepared meals, taking them to the Family Promise Center for the families. Efforts are also underway for congregations to host virtual field trips or the families. We need your help, Faith, to make our week a success. Please email Kendra Stewart (Christ-centered Service Director) if you can help provide meals for the families. Kendra’s email is kstewart@faithtulsa.org.
Many of you have heard about Family Promise, but you might not have heard of Food on the Move. This is a partnership between USDA and GoFresh to provide food delivery for those food deserts that have very little access to transportation. For several weeks, members of our congregation have delivered food. We are now exploring the possibility of becoming a Food on the Move distribution site. Please be praying about whether this can be achieved. If you want to volunteer with the food delivery on Thursday mornings, email Kendra Stewart at kstewart@faithtulsa.org.
Three new faith groups are forming and you are invited to join:
Pastor Heather is leading an outdoor faith group that meets in person. Every Saturday, she takes her group on a hike in a different location around Tulsa. She begins the hike with scripture and the first 10 minutes of the hike are in silence. This is a wonderful opportunity for those that enjoy being outdoors and for families looking for screen-free activities. Email Pastor Heather (hscherer@faithtulsa.org) for the time and location of each hike.
Wyatt Smith is hosting an online faith group for "Sinners and Skeptics” on Tuesday evenings. This group will be held in partnership with Church of the Eternal Hills pastored by one of Heather’s good friends and colleagues, Rev. Paula Daniel Steinbacher. If you enjoy questions and conversation about the more difficult and confusing aspects of our faith, this group might be for you. Email Wyatt (wsmith@faithtulsa.org) for more information so you can decide if this would be a good group for you to join.
Pastor Hank Jenkins is leading an online faith group called, “Divinely Different: Finding Connection Through Vulnerability.” Hank will lead this group through Zoom on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm. It will begin next month. If you are interested in this group, email Pastor Heather (hscherer@faithtulsa.org).
Brittney Blakley, our Caring Director, has launched a twice-monthly devotional email called, “Seeds of Faith.” It will come out on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month. If you would like to sign up for this email, use the sign up form.
Finally, I want to tell you about an amazing gift to Restore Hope Ministries. They’ve received a grant from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Tulsa Area COVID-19 Response Fund to help 500 families who are past due on their rent payments. This program will be run through Restore Hope’s rent assistance ministry, but they will work with both landlords and tenants to bring payments current through June 30 and prevent evictions due to the economic disruption of the pandemic. You can click here to read more. Friends, the impact of this will be far-reaching. When I read what Restore Hope was doing to make this gift available to Tulsa renters, I was so proud to be a United Methodist. I hope you are too.
I am looking forward to a beautiful time of worship with you on Sunday morning at 11:00 am, Faith.
