Dear Central Family:
This past December, a decision was made to suspend in-person worship due to a significant increase in the number of COVID actual and projected cases. As we all know now, those projections came to fruition and despite our disappointment to cancel in-person worship just prior to Christmas, we believe it was the best decision for our church family at that
time.
Recently, the COVID task force at Central met to review the situation and developed a slate of recommendations for our Board of Trustees to consider regarding resumption of in-person worship. The task force reviewed considerable data and projections prior to making their recommendations and believe the trendline points to improving conditions in the months
ahead. However, as has been the case throughout the pandemic, new variables introduced into the mix can swing the directionality of cases and result in the need for Central to pivot as we did in December. Increased vaccination rates will play a major role in further reducing cases and we urge each of you to consider obtaining a vaccination when they are available to you.
The Board of Trustees extensively debated the recommendations of the task force and ultimately made the decision to allow resumption of in-person worship beginning Sunday, March 7. Services will include a 9:30 contemporary service in the Activities Center and a 10:45 classic service in the Sanctuary. Pre-registration will be
required and COVID protocols will remain in place including wearing of a face mask and physical distancing. In-person attendance at each service will be limited to approximately 150 persons. Childcare is available for children age kindergarten and below.
We will continue to offer high quality worship experiences online each Sunday with contemporary worship at 9:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. each Sunday and classic worship at 10:45 a.m. Beginning on April 11, the classic service will move from a pre-recorded service to a livestream format.
Easter. On Easter Sunday, April 4, we are offering four in-person worship opportunities planned in a manner to offer time to sanitize our worship space between gatherings and minimize physical contact. We will offer special Easter services online for those who will be worshipping with us from home and following our
normal broadcast schedule. In addition, we expect to have an option to view our Easter service on a local TV station with some details still pending on that currently. Pre-registration will be required and COVID protocols will be in place for:
- 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. classic services; and
- 9:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. contemporary services
Holy Week. We have plans underway to provide both an in-person Maundy Thursday (April 1) service and Good Friday (April 2) service. Please watch the church newsletter for more details.
Sunday School. Over the next several weeks, we will be working on plans to hopefully allow for resumption of children’s Sunday School and some adult Sunday School classes beginning on April 11.
Wishing you all God’s Best!!
Dr. Jan Davis
Senior Pastor
