Dear Central Family:

We all, no doubt, are suffering from various combinations of pandemic exhaustion, resignation, and confusion as we continue to navigate this roughly 22-month long saga. With the Omicron variant surging through our nation, the U.S. now has over 60 million cases reported since the pandemic began, and the last week has seen upwards of 500,000 new cases added per day.

As we have sought to do throughout the pandemic, we have added and reduced cautionary guidance based on the current status of the pandemic. Research and projections indicate that while cases are currently high, we will likely see a reduction in the number of cases by the end of January. Therefore, after prayerful consideration, our Executive Team is announcing the following guidance changes effective immediately through January 31:

• Sunday morning worship services will continue to follow our normal schedule of meeting at 9:15 a.m. for contemporary worship in the Activities Center and 11:00 a.m. for classic worship in the Sanctuary. Both services will be live streamed. Masks are strongly encouraged for in-person Sunday morning worship services. Currently, there is ample seating in both worship venues. Pastors will be masked when not speaking.
• Wednesday night KidsLife is being cancelled for this week (January 12). Additional cancellations are possible based on availability of staff and teachers. When meeting, children and staff will be required to be masked.
• Junior High and Senior High students meeting on Wednesday nights and Sunday nights will be required to be masked.
• Adult classes will be allowed to make their own determinations but are strongly encouraged to move an online format. Those who do meet in a hybrid, or in-person format are strongly encouraged to be masked.

By way of additional guidance, if you are exhibiting any symptoms of COVID, such as fever, coughing, congestion, nausea, headaches, etc. we encourage you to worship online until such time as you are symptom free.

In closing, we are as weary as all of you are of the rollercoaster ride we continue to experience. We are hopeful that this latest surge will subside by late January. If it does not, we will communicate additional guidance by month’s end. We encourage you to continue to pray for those in our congregation and community who are providing care for those afflicted and for protection for our most vulnerable.

In Christ,

Carness Vaughan
Senior Pastor

Steve Pulliam
Executive Pastor

Brian Swain
Executive Director