COVID-19 Response - Springville 1st UMC

S1UMC Response To COVID-19 (check back for updates)

5/4/21

Springville First United Methodist Church COVID Policy
Updated May 4, 2021 by action of S1UMC Leadership Council

We continue to interact with the best practices that New York State has recommended or required for religious gatherings. Our current policy is a prayerful work to take our context into account in order to care for those across our congregation and make the best use of our facilities for the mission and ministry of the church.

S1UMC will NOT require COVID testing or proof of vaccination for participation in worship.

Masks are still to be worn as we enter the building and interact with others. Once seated for worship or a meeting masks can be removed. Masks still need to be worn during singing for the time being.

All entrances and rooms inside of the S1UMC building and outdoor areas are open for use with the following qualifications:

The kitchen is open only for preparation of communion or meals that are to be consumed off premises.
The nursery space will not open until the congregation is worshipping in the sanctuary.
We are working with a target date of July 18 to transition our weekly worship gathering from the FLC to the sanctuary.

Questions regarding this policy should be referred to our Lay Leader, Dave Ploetz (ploetzdk@msn.com, 982-5975).

It is important that room requests, even for regularly scheduled committee meetings be on record with Debe Ploetz our schedule coordinator (dploetz@s1umc.org).

Rationale
Our potential move date is based on vaccination rates, the use of other health metrics, and the anticipation that we will see relaxed recommendations as they relate to activities important for our worship gatherings in the weeks ahead. Regarding vaccination rates, while we will not require vaccination proof for worship, we do want to make sure that everyone eligible in our congregation has the opportunity to be fully vaccinated prior to us moving to the sanctuary. Current trends point to these realities happening by July.

Please let anyone in church leadership know if issues scheduling or transportation to a vaccine appointment is a limiting factor for you not being vaccinated. We can help provide assistance with these issues.

12/11/20

Springville First United Methodist Church Safety Plan for gatherings during COVID-19 Pandemic

Version: December, 2020

We are working with the requirements and recommendations given by the UNY Conference and New York State regarding in person gatherings. With the different color codes the following is how we will respond regarding gatherings. If Concord is in Code Yellow we will continue to gather in person at 10:00 on Sunday mornings. If the area the church is located goes into Code Orange or Code Red, we will be going to fully virtual worship.

We are still able to have people present in Code Orange and Red and those will be the folks necessary for worship leadership and production. As with every week, you can view worship live at 10:00 am on the “S1UMC” YouTube Channel, or a recording will be available shortly after worship is over at the same place. Other ministries that have been meeting are able to continue meeting at their discretion in approved locations as long as they have no more than 25 people present in a Code Orange, and no more than 10 in a Code Red.

We understand that not everyone will be comfortable with in person meetings at this time. One of our highest values is keeping Sunday morning worship as an experience that is available for all. Even if you are not with us in person, we love you and consider you as a part of Christ’s Church.

Our response to the pandemic represents much more than being obedient in following guidelines. We are exercising good faith and care for others as we continue to live into our mission: Empowered by God to love and serve one another. In addition to the mandates we believe our policy represents the best wisdom as it relates to safely gathering the Church of Jesus at this time.

1. Out of care for others we wear masks as we enter and exit and while we are singing. We encourage you to wear your mask for as much as you are comfortable with the rest of the service, but it is okay to remove your mask while you’re seated if you prefer. We will have masks provided for those who forget or do not have one.

2. Refraining from some activities: Due to the nature of how the virus is spread we are asked to refrain from hugs and handshakes during this time. Have fun with this and come up with a wave or a wiggle to greet others safely. Printed bulletins are not able to be provided. We will also not be providing food or beverages for consumption inside at this time.

Arriving at Worship

• The primary entry will be the lower doors of the Family Life Center when the weather permits. During the cold months when ice and snow are a reality we are opening the main entrance and west entrance. Both of these options provide for better footing. If you need the help of the elevator you will need to use the main entrance. Please have your mask on as you enter the building. Doors will not open until 15 minutes prior to our gathering start time. Scheduled volunteers need to arrive 20 minutes before doors opening for screening and set up.

• We will have the Welcome Team at the doors to help with any direction and to make sure you have a mask and a pack for communion. Please either find a grouping of chairs that match the size of the group you are with, or pull an extra chair or two from a nearby group if needed. We will be further than the minimum six feet due to singing being a part of our gatherings.

Bathrooms in the FLC will be open with some of the sinks/stalls closed off to ensure social distancing when there are more than one person in them at a time. The bathrooms upstairs near the yellow room are also open at this time.

Worship Services:

Our gatherings will be shorter at this time. This is in line with the wisdom that time is a factor in transmission when the virus is present in an environment. Due to some in our midst being more vulnerable this helps us to balance physical safety with our spiritual need for gathered worship.
Communion will continue to be an important practice for us at least monthly. When we participate in communion elements will be prepackaged by a team following safety protocols and distributed as we enter the FLC. At the appropriate time we will all receive the elements in unity from our seats.
Offering – online giving and mailing to the church will continue to be an option, but we will also have giving stations throughout our gathering space. You are welcome to place your offering there before or after worship or at the designated offering time during worship.

Additional important considerations for in person gatherings:

• Social Distancing – In addition to our seating set up, everyone is asked to maintain 6 feet of distance from those from outside your household. Please acknowledge that part of asking everyone to do this is the reality that some have different health considerations. The desire for some to ignore distancing may cause some to make the decision that our gatherings are unsafe for them at this time. Let us follow these policies as acts of love and welcome.

Evolving Policy – We are working to reopen with physical safety as high a priority as our spiritual well being. While we are taking a cautious approach we will also be following the latest information and requirements for our gatherings. We are open to ideas and would like to hear feedback as we continue to review and rework our policies. Dave Ploetz will be helping the Reopening Team to interact with your feedback and ideas. You can reach him at 982-5975 or ploetzdk@msn.com.

Pastor Matthew is appreciative of the prayer and work that has gone into our process of being the church while we have not been meeting in person and now in the process of gathering again. Please continue to pray for him and our church that Christ will use us to reach new people in this time of crisis. Specific thanks to those who are helping serve on the Reopening Team: Jason Harrington, Mike Lux, Bart Moody, Dave and Debe Ploetz, and Lois Scharf-Newman.