Calvary Family,
We recognize the news around COVID-19 and its effects has caused fear, anxiety and grief for many of us. We want to remind you of God’s continued encouragement throughout the Bible – “Do not be afraid.”
As Jesus says in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” In all circumstances, the Lord has promised to be with us. Our prayer is that you would experience His presence in these days and that you would be agents of His peace in our anxious world.
Plans for This Sunday, March 15
As leaders we have prayerfully decided to move forward with our Sunday morning worship services. We will be limiting additional Sunday morning program in the following manner:
- All Adult classes are canceled
- Nursery is canceled to limit the potential spread of the virus to our potentially vulnerable volunteers and allow us to distribute volunteers to other ministry areas as needed
- Programming for age three through eighth grade will continue but only during the 10:45am service
- High School (UNITED) will meet for normal programming
If you are a part of the community most affected by this virus, we encourage you to stay home. This includes the elderly, who are most susceptible to adverse effects of COVID-19.
Communion Offered
We have prayerfully decided to move forward with offering the ordinance of communion in our services this Sunday. You will be invited forward by section to partake of the elements. The crackers and juice will be placed on the tables and offered in individual stacking cups for you to take. Offering plates will be available for you to place your offerings, up front near the communion cups. No communion or offering plates will be passed on Sunday. Hand sanitizer will be available prior to entering the Sanctuary.
We understand that some of you may choose not to participate in communion. It is our hope that by offering this communication prior to the service, you will have opportunity to seek God’s guidance as to your participation in this ordinance.
Taking Personal Precautions
In an effort to keep everyone safe, we encourage you to be vigilant about good hand hygiene. As you would during cold and flu season, skip handshake greetings and make use of available hand sanitizer stations. Calvary’s Custodial Team has increased their sanitization procedures around the building and will continue to operate at this level of precaution. If you have any cold or respiratory symptoms, feel sick, or have underlying health conditions that put you at risk, please stay home. We will continue to stream our Sunday morning worship service at calvarygr.org/live.
Be in Prayer
This is an evolving situation. We will remain flexible and address things as they occur. As developments arise, we will make necessary adjustments and share updates with you. We encourage you to stay up to date from trusted sources. Please be in prayer for our church, community and world, and specifically for those who are directly impacted by this virus.
Bill Azkoul
Elder Chair
Jim Samra
Senior Pastor
Tom Olsson
Lead Pastor