Worship Service

Indoors at the Abbey for August:
Note: If there are extreme weather (heat/smoke/etc) conditions, Saturday's newsletter will indicate we will be Zoom-only for the next day.

• No registration is required
• Masks*: Mask-wearing for those over age 5 while indoors (masks will be available if you don't have one with you)
• Self-screen for symptoms: You must stay home and will be most welcome over Zoom if you have any COVID symptoms.
• No Eucharist: We will not hold Eucharist during the month of August.
• Water: We will have an ice-water dispenser outside by the main doors.
• Space: By using the Great Hall, we will be able to spread out seating and not need to limit attendance. All restrooms are open.
• Open Space: Icons, stations, and hand sanitizer will be available to interact with throughout the service in order to keep things less crowded during the scheduled "Open Space" time.
• Music: Musicians and speakers will be exempt from the mask requirements so they can be heard in person and over zoom. The congregation will sing together with masks on.
• Kids: We will offer individual kid kits (rather than a shared play area) so that children can engage creatively during church. Kids under 5 may mask at their family's discretion.

Zoom for August and onward:

• We are keeping our zoom service integrated for the foreseeable future, including having remote Lectors & Reverb-ers. Those participating on Zoom, please let us know if your service experience changes!

Volunteers (In-Person and Zoom needs):
In order to meet together in person, we need to come together as a community to make our church happen!
Each Sunday we will need:

• 2 Greeters: Come at 4:30 to help set up the welcome table and greet/direct people as they come in
• 2 Lectors: Come at 4:55 to get a script with the readings for the day
• 1 Set Up Helper: Come at 4:00 to help set up chairs and open space materials
• 1 Clean Up Helper: Stay after the service to help put away chairs / clean up materials

Contact Erin (erin@apostleschurch.org) if you're available to help with one of these tasks for any August Sundays.
Volunteer roles will be updated as needed during the return to in-person services.

*A note about masks:
Your COVID task force is holding the responsibility to keep each other safe, to follow our state guidelines, and to demonstrate who we hope to be as a community. We hope that every adult has gotten vaccinated if they're able, and we hope and pray for swift approval for the vaccine for children. While current state guidelines suggest that masks are not necessary for vaccinated folks, even indoors, we have discerned that we're not *quite* there yet.

Here are some considerations for universal masking as we start out together: being an example for our kids, because singing increases droplet dispersal, the challenging airflow of our building, potential changing guidelines related to variants, and simply getting comfortable gathering again. The goal is to take it slow, safe, and easy, so we can all feel comfortable joining back together as a community. Masks will be available with a friendly smile if you don't have one on you.

These guidelines are consistently being reviewed and updated by the COVID task force.