St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
80 Daniel St. N., Arnprior, ON K7S 2K8
Interim Moderator: Rev. David McFarlane
Email: davemcfarlane534@gmail.com
August, 2020
Dear St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Family,
We have certainly missed seeing your smiling faces since COVID-19 forced us to close our doors to in-person worship. In March, when the decision to temporarily close our doors to slow the spread of the virus, we entered unchartered waters. As we continue to navigate through this pandemic, as a Session, we tried to keep in touch with phone calls and delivering the news/activity letter prepared by our Interim Moderator, Rev. Dave McFarlane.
As we once again get ready to welcome you, our guests as members, adherents, and visitors alike, back into St. Andrew’s, we wanted to take a moment and let you know what has been going on at St. Andrew’s.
- The Church received an intensified cleaning during the shutdown – from the Sanctuary to through the De Renzy Hall. We thank our Custodian Anne Lyon, for this massive undertaking.
- Our Secretary, Annette Powell, maintained the office for the church and ensured all was kept up-to-date. We are certainly blessed to have her as our Church Secretary/Treasurer.
- Session remained in contact with each other and provided Pastoral Care the best that they could during this pandemic. Our sincerest thanks to Robert Verch, Shirley Stack, and Ken Black, who have stepped back as active members of Session, but continue to be of support to Session.
- Despite the progress the Search Committee was making, they were forced to pause their meetings because of the coronavirus. Now that meetings can resume with social distancing protocols, the Search Committee is once again “geared up” to return to search.
As we prepare to once again reopen our doors to in-person worship, Session decided to set up a small committee of three elders to make the necessary adjustments to welcome guests back into our worship space. They have been working in the church over the past few weeks in preparation for a trial service on August 30th, 2020 to see how things go, and to tweak things before our official reopening on September 13th, 2020. The most important thing to remember as we reopen our doors to worship: if you are not comfortable with attending services in-person, do not force yourself to come to church. We respect and support your decision, and we are committed to ensuring that spiritual and pastoral care is available to you as well. Please, let us know so we can help you stay in touch.
In order for us to once again open our doors to worship, there are federal, provincial and local rules and guidelines that we must follow to keep everyone safe. We have listed what we will be doing below. Please make note of them. They are:
- There will only be one point of entry to the Church building. That is the entrance on McGonigal Street. This allows for easy access to the elevator; to control the entrances/exits of the church, and to help in the necessity to stay within our 30% capacity limits.
- Masks must be worn in the church. If a health reason prevents you from wearing one, please inform the person at the door. We will not turn you away, or force you to wear one, however we will stress the importance of social distancing.
- Hand sanitizer must be used both on entering and leaving the building.
- You may not be able to sit in your favourite pew. To maintain the 6 feet social distancing guideline, we needed to close off some pews to comply with social distancing. We do apologize for this inconvenience, but if we all do our part and we defeat COVID-19, we can then remove those barriers and reopen those pews.
- Even though we are a Christian Family, we cannot all sit together. You can only sit with your family members, or those within your current COVID Social Bubble. Please respect each others space.
- Singing of hymns and our responsive readings have temporarily been suspended. Public Health regulations demonstrate how these activities can spread the virus very quickly. Our Music Ministry Team will be working together to provide moments within our service for musical reflection.
- Offering plates will be placed at back of the sanctuary for your convenience to reduce the number of times everyone handles the plates. If you wish, you can leave your offering in them. You can also ask about our Pre-Authorized Remittance (PAR) program if you would like.
- Fellowship in De Renzy Hall after the service has also been temporarily suspended.
- All hymn books and bibles have been removed from the pews and stored away.
- Bulletins will be made available, and we ask that if you are not taking it home to please deposit in the recycling bin at the exit of the church.
- In order to keep our worship space safe, we kindly ask that you not leave any candy/candy wrappers, kleenex, bulletins, water bottles, etc. in the pews. Please dispose of them in the garbage can at the exit of the church.
- Names will be recorded of everyone who attends worship as a safety precaution. This is to keep track of who was present within our building on a particular Sunday should we have to contact them. Visiting guests will be asked for their phone-number. Once the appropriate amount of time has passed, these sheets will be shredded.
- Upon entry you will be asked if you have any symptoms of COVID-19. If you do, we will kindly ask that you return home and self-isolate and monitor your symptoms. If they worsen, please seek medical attention. As time moves forward, St. Andrew’s may introduce temperature checks. Right now, we are asking that if you feel ill, please do not come to church. Stay home.
- To greet your friends and neighbours remember the 2-meter (6 feet) distancing. Instead of a hug or a handshake, nod, wave, smile, or bow. Let’s keep each other safe within our building.
- At the end of the service, please wait until the Elders tell you it is your turn to leave in order to maintain the social distancing.
Please remember that COVID-19 most commonly spreads from an infected person to another person through the following:
- Close contact:Breathing in someone’s respiratory droplets after they cough, sneeze, laugh or sing.
- Contaminated surfaces:Touching something with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose or eyes with unwashed hands.
- Common greetings:Handshakes, hugs or kisses.
Please bear with us as we try this new method of church service. We hope to see you in church again, but ONLY IF YOU are comfortable doing so.
Sincerely,
Rev. Dave McFarlane Douglas Powell
Interim Moderator Clerk of Session.
A Little Prayer to bring comfort in this trying time. It was included in July 2020’s Guidepost magazine.
Dear Lord,
I place this day, my life, my loved ones, my work in Your hands. There is no harm in Your hands, only good. Please watch over us in this time of crisis and help us to keep our faith, secure in the knowledge that no virus, no obstacle, no fear is greater than You. Amen.