Please note: If you are not feeling well (persistent cough, fever, or other COVID symptoms) please stay at home!
While our Triune Lord wants all His people to come into His presence and receive His many blessings, if you consider yourself high risk, or do not feel comfortable returning to public worship, please feel at peace to stay at home. You are baptized! You have Christ’s Word in your hands and in your ears through the recorded Services which will continue into the foreseeable future. Christ is holding onto you! Pastor Kuhl can arrange another way for you to receive the holy gifts of Christ, mitigating risks even further.
All of these guidelines are being requested of you out of love for one another. The health officials for Ontario and Canada have given us good advice on how to stem the tide of this coronavirus, and we will do everything we can to keep that advise so that we can resume public worship with each other. Please help us by abiding by these recommendations, even if they seem excessive to you. Thank you!
Returning to the Lord’s House for Worship:
Coming into the Lord’s House
When we return to Holy Communion Services:
While our Triune Lord wants all His people to come into His presence and receive His many blessings, if you consider yourself high risk, or do not feel comfortable returning to public worship, please feel at peace to stay at home. You are baptized! You have Christ’s Word in your hands and in your ears through the recorded Services which will continue into the foreseeable future. Christ is holding onto you! Pastor Kuhl can arrange another way for you to receive the holy gifts of Christ, mitigating risks even further.
All of these guidelines are being requested of you out of love for one another. The health officials for Ontario and Canada have given us good advice on how to stem the tide of this coronavirus, and we will do everything we can to keep that advise so that we can resume public worship with each other. Please help us by abiding by these recommendations, even if they seem excessive to you. Thank you!
Returning to the Lord’s House for Worship:
- We are asking all members to wear their own face masks, covering both the nose and the mouth, for the service.
- If you forget or do not have one, we will have some on hand for your use.
- The congregation will be singing the liturgy with their masks on; for the hymns, we will have a soloist or a small group singing them for the congregation at this stage or reopening.
- Hand sanitizer will be available in the Narthex at the back of the church, and also outside the offices, by the parking lot entrance.
- Please use the washroom before you come to church. If you have need during service, we will have the washroom at the back of the church, in the narthex available. It will be sanitized after every use.
Coming into the Lord’s House
- Please enter the Church from the Severn Street entrance at the front of the church. Arrows will be drawn in chalk on the parking lots and sidewalk to guide you to the flow of traffic. The doors will be opened for you to enter.
- If you need to use the handicap ramp; please use the handicap buttons with your forearm to open the doors without touching the handles.
- Once inside the church, please practice the social distancing norms, remaining 6 feet away from others outside of your household.
- Please refrain from any handshakes and hugs with people not of your household at this time.
- You may quickly visit your mailbox in the narthex upon entry, but please proceed into the sanctuary to find a seat as soon as you can to keep traffic flow moving.
- The Elders will give you a bulletin and a face mask (if you don’t have your own). Please keep your face mask on for the whole service. Hymns will be sung by a soloist or a small group; you may hum along for this stage of reopening.
- Please place your Offerings on the plates as you enter the sanctuary. They will not be passed along the pews during service, but they will be presented to the Lord at the appropriate time of the service by the Elders.
- Please sit in designated areas. We need to have everyone seated in their household groups, and distanced 6 feet away from each group.
- This will likely mean you cannot sit in your normal pews. Please forgive us this inconvenience.
- If you need a cushion, take one from the back of the church, and use it, leaving it in place as you leave the church.
- Take one of the hymnals and use it today, take it home with you (for use during the week if you’d like) and please bring it back next week for service. This will be YOUR hymnal for the next while. Please keep it in good order during your time of use.
- If you have your own Lutheran Service Book, please bring it and use it.
- The downstairs will be off limits for now, so that we do not have to sanitize everything every week. Thank you for understanding.
- Pastor will not be masked during Service as they are more than 6 feet away from the congregation.
- When Service is over, there will be no handshaking afterwards, however Pastor will remain at the front steps of the sanctuary to chat from a safe distance as you leave.
- Please leave the church via the offices exit to the front-right of the sanctuary, out towards the parking lot.
- Maintain your 6 foot social distancing rules as you go. And please, maintain that distance if you chat with others out in the parking lot after service.
When we return to Holy Communion Services:
- Pastor, and any assisting Elders will all wash their hands during the Offertory with soap and water for 20 seconds in the Vestry before resuming Service. They will all be masked for the distribution.
- Hand sanitizer will be right near them during distribution should any accidental contact occur, and they will use it before continuing with distribution.
- For distribution we will practice what is called, “Pilgrim Style”.
- Starting with the Lectern side of the congregation, front to back, people will line up in the centre aisle by family units, maintaining 6 feet social distances. The carpet will be marked for you. Move forward as you can.
- One at a time, approach Pastor Kuhl first for the host, then the assisting Elder for the individual cup for the common cup with Christ’s blood.
- Pastor will be at the bottom step and you will receive the host in your outstretched hands, open face up, held tight together, and he will drop the host carefully onto the little throne you have made to receive your King.
- For the Lectern Side of the church, Pastor will be near the Pulpit. You move to your left then to receive the Blood of Christ from either the Elder, and then keep moving left to return to your pew via the Outside Aisle.
- For the Pulpit Side of the church, Pastor will exchange places with the Elder to the Lectern side of the step. Receive the Host from him, move to your right to receive the Blood of Christ from the Elder, and then keep moving right, using the outside aisle to return to your pew.
- The Blood of Christ will be available via the common Chalice and in individual cups, well spaced out in the trays so that no one needs to touch another cup.
- The Chalice will still be available. We have high potency alcohol wipes which will be used to carefully wipe the rim and base after each use.
- The elders will have carefully washed their hands for 20 seconds before placing the cups in the trays and filling them up. Please make sure you only touch the cup you plan on taking.
- Place the empty cup in the empty tray on the small table before you return to your pew.
- Pastor will not be speaking the words, “Body of Christ,” or “Blood of Christ,” during the distribution as it will likely be too difficult in the masks.
- After everyone has communed, the whole congregation will receive the blessing normally spoken after each table receives the gifts of Christ at the railing.
- Guests and other non-communing members (catechumen and little children) who normally are invited forward for a blessing by the Pastor are asked to please remain seated at this time to keep things simple and minimize extra contact points. Blessings can be given after service is over from the front step as you are departing, though there will be no touching at this time.