When Will Sunday Services Start?
One of the big questions I hear is: When will the church reopen? Of course, the church has always been open because the church is not a building. But I understand the question. When will we be able to meet again in the church building so that we can worship Christ together?
I miss meeting together! I love our church family. I like singing together and studying the Bible and talking in the lobby, and I miss encouraging and laughing and building each other up in-person. I want to start meeting together on Sunday mornings soon. We are hoping, praying, and planning on starting services around mid-July. However, meeting together on Sunday morning will bring some significant logistical challenges that I wanted to share with you.
Logistics
We will almost certainly have to practice social distancing. That means that our 900 seat auditorium will only accommodate about 250 socially distanced worshipers. If everyone who normally attends CEFC wanted to attend, we would have to hold 7 or 8 services! We will also need to wear face masks.
Children’s Ministry will not be available when we first start meeting together because it is hard to have children wear masks, social distance, and stop sharing toys.
We also want to open our Mount Holly Campus at the same time we open our Carlisle Campus, but it is not clear when we will be able to get back in to the elementary school.
More Information
There will be a Town Hall on Sunday, June 14, at 7 PM on our Facebook Page where you can ask questions and get answers. Until then, please feel free to look over the rationale that is guiding our reopening timeline here. If you have not had a chance to watch last week’s video about reopening, you can watch it here.
God Is At Work
Here is the great news: God is at work! While the building has been closed, God has been working. Let me share just a few highlights.
Baptisms - We are excited that a number of people will be getting baptized in the next few weeks. People from both our Mount Holly and Carlisle campuses will be getting baptized at various locations and we will share the videos with you soon.
Serve - Helping Hands has completed several service projects for people in our church neighborhood and community. We are grateful that this ministry has still been able to help families who need assistance with small projects and manual labor during times of uncertainty.
Thank You
While we work toward a mid-July reopening, I want to thank you for keeping your focus on Christ. Thank you for the way so many are reaching out to friends and neighbors and strangers. Thank you for showing each other grace, and for being careful with your words. Thank you for endeavoring to live “All of Life for Christ”!
Sincerely,
Shad Baker
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