FCC Orland COVID-19 Response - v4.1
Plan before you come.
Please take your temperature and be mindful of any symptoms you may have, prior to coming to worship. If you have a low grade fever (or higher), persistent dry cough, shortness of breath, or inflammation, please stay home. Whether you think it is allergies, cold, flu, or coronavirus, please do not come if you have any symptoms. Only a negative test for COVID-19 can demonstrate these symptoms are not the virus. If you are not able to get a test, please use the Online Worship Service for the following two weeks before resuming gathering at the church building. This is one of the most important things we can all do to prevent spread, and we must trust every member to do their part.
Are you at risk?
If you are in a high risk group (diabetic, obesity, severe asthma, heart condition, lung illness, or compromised immune system) we strongly recommend you stay home and use the Online Worship Service until a universal treatment for COVID-19 has been discovered. We cannot mandate this, and we understand some in our church may not wish to comply. We also know the majority of our congregation falls in this high risk category. To be absolutely clear, we implore our members, regular attendees, and guests to prioritize their family and their health foremost. We will continue the Online Worship Service, and encourage you to make use of it. We do not want to put mandates in place that force people to stay away, against their choice. Please use wisdom in discerning if it is safe to attend a worship service. We implore the entire church body to comply with the rules of the road so that our building can be a safe place for those at higher risk.
Sanitizing.
Please use a sanitizing station as you enter the church building, and as you participate in communion. If you use the bathroom, please use soap and water, washing for 20 seconds or longer. Please be sure to use a sanitizing wipe to wipe any fixture you may have touched while using the bathroom.
Masks.
Moving around the church building? Wear a mask, please! We want to show love to our neighbors and stay in compliance with California’s mandate. If you are above the age of five, please wear a mask when entering the church building, all the way to your seat. Please wear a mask when leaving your seat, and exiting the building. When you are seated you are free to take the mask off. Please don’t mask shame those who are continuing to wear masks. If you cannot wear a mask due to health reasons, please make arrangements to come 20 minutes early to be seated, and please plan to stay a little later after service concludes. If you do not have a mask, we can provide one for you!
Entering, Seating, and Exiting.
When you enter First Christian Church, please be mindful of physical distancing from others not in your group. If there are multiple parties arriving at the same time, please maintain physical distance while we seat everyone.
A deacon or usher will seat your family and you in a designated space. We will do our very best to accommodate you sitting in a preferred place. Non-relatives and relatives living in different households, that want to sit together, should arrive at the church together. Once seated, we ask you remain in your seated area. You can sit or stand. You are free to remove your mask.
When the worship service ends, please wait for a deacon or usher to dismiss your group. He will dismiss you to leave, and we ask that you leave the building without making any stops, or wandering. If you need to use the restroom on your way out, please let the deacon or usher know. The rest of your group will be waiting outside for you while you use the restroom. Please remember to have everyone in your group, who are above the age of five, wear a mask while exiting the building. If you need to leave while the worship service is going on, please leave the building in a direct, orderly fashion. If you leave early, you will not be re-seated.
Bathrooms.
Bathrooms will be open, however we ask you to try to use yours at home, so as to keep the building’s free from congestion. If you need to use the bathroom, please be sure to wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or longer, and use a sanitizing wipe to wipe down any fixtures you touched.
Coughing & sneezing.
We realize coughs, clearing throats, and sneezes are often involuntary and done throughout the day (especially with allergens in the air). Please be sure to cover your cough, sneezes or throat clearing, preferably with a handkerchief or in your elbow. If you find yourself with a persistent dry cough, please stay home and use the Online Worship Service.
Other facilities of the church.
The kitchen, fellowship hall, classrooms, and pastor’s office are closed at this time. Do not use or enter these areas. If you are a church leader, do not use these areas during our worship service. The only person(s) who should be using additional areas in the church are the person(s) preparing communion, our audio/ video person monitoring the sound board and keynote, and those designated to lead the worship service.
The upstairs office is open for authorized people only. Authorized people are anyone with a key to the office. Please limit office use to one person at a time, as to not bunch up in a confined area. When going from your seat to the office, and back, please wear a mask. If you have a health issue that makes wearing a mask potentially dangerous, please come early or stay late to use the office. We do not want people walking around the sanctuary without masks, when filled with people.
The nursery is reopened with the following guidelines: only one family may use it at a time. There is signage made to show if it is in use. Any items, structure, or fixture that is used in the nursery must be wiped clean by the family using it, much like our guidelines for bathroom use. The nursery is available for changing, feeding, or comforting a baby. The kitchen will remain closed, and not be available to families, so bottles must be prepared ahead of time. Only the communion prep person and a family using the nursery is permitted downstairs during Sunday worship.
Communion.
We will have a designated communion station set up in the library section of the church sanctuary. A deacon will dismiss members to partake of communion. The communion bread and cup will be double cupped, and you will be able to partake without touching any plates or other elements everyone else has. We ask you to wear your mask while moving from your seat to the communion station and back, removing it when you are partaking of the bread and cup. Please discard empty cups as you go back to your seat. When you finish taking communion, please return to your seat. If you are unable to stand for a length of time to participate in communion this way, please let your deacon/ usher know so they can seat you in an area where we can best serve you during this time.
Tithing / offering.
An offering station will be set up near the communion station. You can leave your tithe, offering, faith promise offering, or praise/ prayer request in the box. You will have several opportunities to do this. You can make your tithe or offering when entering, participating in communion, or exiting the building. Please let your deacon/ usher know you would like to do this and he will guide you there. We will have a prayer of dedication each Sunday, but we will not specifically dismiss you to make a tithe/ offering, nor will we pass a plate. You can also mail your check in or set up direct deposit.
Church Worship Service.
The worship service will run no longer than 70 minutes. Please make preparations to be on time. We will observe a short grace period between the start time and our opening song, in order to seat everyone. Please keep in mind, coming late to service, and causing our deacons and ushers to seat people once service has started, will create a more noticeable distraction than it might have before. So let’s use this relaunch as an opportunity to commit to being prompt for worship. We recommend coming up to 20 minutes early to be seated. Once you are seated, we ask you do not leave your space, unless you need to use the restroom. A deacon/ usher will be stationed in the back to monitor bathroom use to avoid congestion in the foyer. Thankfully our sanctuary is small enough you should have great conversation with others from right where you’re seated.
Need to pray with someone or want to accept Jesus’s forgiveness and salvation?
We’re doing the work of God, and COVID-19 won’t stop that! Please let your usher / deacon know when you are being dismissed. He will arrange to have you pray with the pastor or a deacon.
Need to be baptized?
COVID-19 has not stopped our observation and practice of baptism, but we do need to make special arrangements to keep the pastor, deacon, or person who is baptizing and you safe. Please call the church office or speak with one of the deacons today and we will work to make this happen.
After church fellowship, handshaking, hugs?
We know hugging, handshaking, and participating in close quarters fellowship can put a lot of people at risk quickly. However, we also recognize you’re adults, and so we are leaving some of this to your decision-making. Here is what we’re asking: save all fellowship for after church and outside the building. If you plan to give a hug or handshake to someone not into your group, please ask that person’s permission. If you want to give a kid a “high five” or hold a baby, ask his or her parents’ permission. Don’t have permission? Please, don’t do it! Respect everyone’s space and don’t be offended. For the foreseeable future all downstairs activities are postponed. We will continue to roll out special activities as we continue our relaunch.