Moving Back Indoors
*Updated October 17th
Our church is on the verge of moving back indoors amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. You may have some questions or concerns about the timing of this transition, so I wanted to lay out exactly what our plan is and our procedures to do our best to keep our congregation and our community safe.
Our church council has voted unanimously to resume indoor worship. *We are moving back indoors October 18th. We will transition the outdoor 9:30am service indoors. There are a number of factors that went into this decision and a clear plan has been laid out. Among other changes, people will be socially distanced when seated and everyone will be asked to wear a mask throughout the service. Below is the plan approved by the Church Council:
The Council has approved that we maintain outdoor worship as long as we can. Being outdoors is categorically safer than worship indoors. But the team also recognizes that cold weather is prohibitive for outdoor worship. We recommend folks bring coats and blankets until we transition to indoor worship. We want to maintain outdoor worship to at least October 11th and, potentially, as far as the end of October, if we have morning temperatures above 60 degrees.
When the weather is too cold (or we come to the end of October, whichever comes first), we will move indoors and remain indoors for the foreseeable future. One advantage we have over other churches is our heating system, which is radiant, not forced air. That means a potential virus will not be spread by the intake and distribution of hot air. Here are the other steps approved as we move indoors:
· Have radiant heat on, but allow fresh air into the sanctuary (per CDC recommendations)
· Have no congregational singing. Only soloists will sing
· Invite everyone to wear a mask coming into the building and keeping it on while inside
· Do a contactless temperature check for everyone entering the building
· Invite everyone to use hand sanitizer as they enter the building
· Seat families with 6 feet of distance between them
· Keep only the family bathroom open for easy clean up and maintenance
· Strategically position the preacher and musicians to maintain an additional 12-20 feet of distance
· Reduce the number of musicians leading musically
· Remove all items from pews
· Take attendance using one volunteer, not attendance pads
· Shorten the length from that of an average service to reduce potential exposure
· Continue with no coffee hour after worship
· Maintain online worship for those uncomfortable with returning to indoor worship
Sunday School, led by Chris Cauda, has formed a plan for their students and teachers. Their plan was created by a team of Sunday School leaders and the input of the pastor. Their plan will be reviewed periodically with the Pastor.
You may be wondering about the current state of COVID-19 in our area. Much of the news includes state and national numbers, but rarely do you see information regarding Wyckoff or other local towns. The perception, especially when total case numbers are given, is that COVID is on the rise. Though this may be true in some areas, Wyckoff has seen a steady decrease since May of 2020. Since September 30th there have only been 8 new cases in Wyckoff. In May there were about 6 new cases every day, in July about .8, September had slightly less at .79 cases per day, while today we are down to about 1 new case every two days (.5). Though that’s more than we’d like to see, we believe it is safe enough to resume indoor worship as cases are on the decline in our area.
With this plan in place we are excited to reintroduce indoor worship at Grace United Methodist Church in Wyckoff, New Jersey. Certainly things will not be exactly as they were, but we believe this is a significant step for us as we continue our efforts to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with our community and with our world. We hope you’ll join us indoors for worship when you are ready to do so!