Hello Church Family,
Many of you may have already heard through Facebook or word of mouth that we are going to gather in person for worship this Sunday, May 24, 2020. We have been praying and thinking about when and how we should re-open and start meeting in person. Our goal is to be able to worship together much like we were before the stay-at-home order began. We want to start by being able to gather together under one roof, provide a safe environment, and be respectful and considerate of those around us. We have a 4-step process to accomplish all of this.
Step #1 – Preparation
We will be cleaning and sanitizing the church. We want to make sure everything people will come in contact with is clean. The cleaning process has already begun and will be done before this Sunday.
We will also be increasing the distance between each row of seating in order to follow social distancing as much as possible.
Step #2 – Limited Reopen – May 24th
In order to re-open safely and considerately, we ask that you do your best follow social distancing. Here are some ways we can do this and meet together.
If you are running a fever or coughing, we ask that you please stay home. We want to make sure we do not spread any sickness.
Step #3 – Slightly Less Limited Reopen – TBD
This step and step #2 are similar. We will still be practicing social distancing. However, during this step we will be re-introducing Sunday school and children’s programming. We will do these as safe as possible. We will have some guidelines on how these will be done, when we are approaching step #3. The church will begin to be open during this step as well. This means that I will be in the office, keeping normal hours and the church will be open for extra functions.
Step #4 – Full Reopen – TBD
Everything will be reopened. We will no longer be practicing social distancing. Sunday school, children’s programming, bulletins, greeting time, coffee/breakfast fellowship, communion, and offering will all be back to normal or at least whatever the new normal is.
I would like to finish with reminding you of FCCB’s mission statement.
LOVE GOD. LOVE PEOPLE.
Why am I reminding you of this?
As we come back together, we need to remember our purpose as a church here in Brownstown. Through all of these steps we can accomplish the first part of our mission: LOVE GOD. We will sing praises to Him. We will give back to Him through offerings and service. We will live our lives according to His Word, the Bible.
We also need to remember the second part. There are specific ways we can accomplish this. We need to be unified and not quarreling among ourselves. These steps may seem overly cautious or not cautious enough. It might seem we are coming back too soon or that we should have come back weeks ago. Whatever your opinion, there are probably justifiable reasons for that opinion. However, we want to treat each other with love and kindness. We can disagree and still respect and trust each other’s motives and intentions. How we respond to and treat others in the church has a huge impact on how those outside the church view us. We want to show a unified, loving church that others want to be apart of. So please treat each other with love and kindness. Respect each other’s space. Be understanding with all those around you.
If you have any questions, feel free to call or text me, email me or private message me on Facebook.
God bless,
Nathan Brands
Preaching Minister
Many of you may have already heard through Facebook or word of mouth that we are going to gather in person for worship this Sunday, May 24, 2020. We have been praying and thinking about when and how we should re-open and start meeting in person. Our goal is to be able to worship together much like we were before the stay-at-home order began. We want to start by being able to gather together under one roof, provide a safe environment, and be respectful and considerate of those around us. We have a 4-step process to accomplish all of this.
Step #1 – Preparation
We will be cleaning and sanitizing the church. We want to make sure everything people will come in contact with is clean. The cleaning process has already begun and will be done before this Sunday.
We will also be increasing the distance between each row of seating in order to follow social distancing as much as possible.
Step #2 – Limited Reopen – May 24th
In order to re-open safely and considerately, we ask that you do your best follow social distancing. Here are some ways we can do this and meet together.
- Try to keep 6 feet apart from each other when possible.
- Try to keep 2 chairs between your family and other families that may be in your row. This means spreading out and possibly not sitting in your normal seat.
- Try to keep your children, especially the younger ones, with your family.
- Please refrain from shaking hands and hugging. Say hello or wave instead.
- Please keep walkways and entrances clear, so people do not have to squeeze by to get through. If you wish to stop and talk, please do so not in a walkway or entrance.
- The Illinois government recommends that people wear masks when social distancing is not always possible. We intend to social distance the best we can, however there are times it may be difficult. We recommend that you wear a mask due to this.
- There will be no Sunday school, no children’s programming, no bulletins, no greeting time, and no coffee/breakfast fellowship.
- However, there will be prayer, singing praises to God, communion, offering, and Biblical preaching.
- We will be doing communion and offering a little different and will announce how this Sunday.
- The church will continue to be closed during the week. However, I (Nathan) will be in the church office between 9am-noon, Monday-Thursday to answer the phones and do necessary church work.
If you are running a fever or coughing, we ask that you please stay home. We want to make sure we do not spread any sickness.
Step #3 – Slightly Less Limited Reopen – TBD
This step and step #2 are similar. We will still be practicing social distancing. However, during this step we will be re-introducing Sunday school and children’s programming. We will do these as safe as possible. We will have some guidelines on how these will be done, when we are approaching step #3. The church will begin to be open during this step as well. This means that I will be in the office, keeping normal hours and the church will be open for extra functions.
Step #4 – Full Reopen – TBD
Everything will be reopened. We will no longer be practicing social distancing. Sunday school, children’s programming, bulletins, greeting time, coffee/breakfast fellowship, communion, and offering will all be back to normal or at least whatever the new normal is.
I would like to finish with reminding you of FCCB’s mission statement.
LOVE GOD. LOVE PEOPLE.
Why am I reminding you of this?
As we come back together, we need to remember our purpose as a church here in Brownstown. Through all of these steps we can accomplish the first part of our mission: LOVE GOD. We will sing praises to Him. We will give back to Him through offerings and service. We will live our lives according to His Word, the Bible.
We also need to remember the second part. There are specific ways we can accomplish this. We need to be unified and not quarreling among ourselves. These steps may seem overly cautious or not cautious enough. It might seem we are coming back too soon or that we should have come back weeks ago. Whatever your opinion, there are probably justifiable reasons for that opinion. However, we want to treat each other with love and kindness. We can disagree and still respect and trust each other’s motives and intentions. How we respond to and treat others in the church has a huge impact on how those outside the church view us. We want to show a unified, loving church that others want to be apart of. So please treat each other with love and kindness. Respect each other’s space. Be understanding with all those around you.
If you have any questions, feel free to call or text me, email me or private message me on Facebook.
God bless,
Nathan Brands
Preaching Minister
