In Person Services Resume

IN-PERSON SERVICES RESUME IN SANCTUARY – FEBRUARY 28^th

It is with great excitement that we share the following news. The members of the church council, along with our Pastor and Staff have been and will continue to monitor area statistics related to the virus and vaccinations and adjust in-person gatherings as deemed appropriate. With the number of COVID-19 cases in the area declining, the church council, pastor and staff are pleased to announce that we will be resuming in-person services of worship in the Sanctuary beginning Sunday, February 28th at 10:00am. Sunday school for children Kindergarten through 5th grade will be offered in the Fellowship Hall concurrently with the service of worship. Both nursery and preschool will also meet at 10am in their respective classes. Online classes will continue to meet on Sundays at 9am.

As we resume gathering inside the building, we want to sincerely thank each of you for your support, patience, and prayers through these unchartered waters. Please know that the health and safety of everyone who wishes to attend services and events at the church has been and remains the top priority as we seek to make decisions out of love for one another. Thus, as we once again return to offering in-person services of worship, children’s Sunday school and nurseries inside the building, we will be taking every necessary precaution to insure not only a spiritual worship and discipleship experience, but a safe experience.

Below you will find a list of the precautions we are taking.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation and continued patience. We look forward to seeing each of you once again and as always, if you wish to provide feedback and input, please email council-chair@pumcfortmill.org.

What to expect:

• Mask will be required for all who enter the building.
• Orderly and controlled entry and exit of the building.
• Infrared temperature checks will be conducted.
• Social distancing will be practiced.
• Offerings will not be collected during the service, but if you wish to bring your offering with you, we will have offering boxes located at the entrance to the sanctuary.
• A team of trained hosts will guide each worshipper to a socially distanced seat within the sanctuary.
• We have a maximum seating capacity of 110 persons in the sanctuary with appropriate social distancing.

We recommend that persons planning on attending worship register their attendance online each week by 9:00am using the link provided on the website for the following reasons:

• So we will have a record of each person in attendance each week in case we need to alert you should there be anyone who attends that service who within 14 days of attendance finds out they have COVID-19.

• To insure we do not exceed the 110 person capacity inside the sanctuary, so we can either add another service time or set up a remote viewing location.

To RSVP each week, click on the “Get Involved” tab in the main menu and selecting “upcoming events”

Sunday school for children Kindergarten through 5th grade will be offered in the Fellowship Hall concurrently with the service of worship. Both nursery and preschool will also meet at 10am in their respective classes. Online classes will continue to meet on Sundays at 9am.

Music ministry during the services will consist of a combination of instrumentals, a small praise team, solos and traditional hymns sung by a small ensemble. Congregational singing still carries a high risk of viral spread and will not resume at this time.

The double door entrance under the portico will be the only door opened for entry and exit from the Sunday services and automatic hand sanitizer stations will be located at those doors.

In lieu of hand-shaking, hugs and “fist bumps”, sharing the sign of peace and waving your hands as signs of greeting are recommended.

High risk individuals should consider continuing with the online worship experience. We will continue to post a recorded service on the church website (www.pumcfortmill.org) and a service will be also be available on the church Facebook page.

Church groups, including Bible study groups, Sunday school classes and leadership teams who wish to meet inside the church building will need to contact Denise Watson, PUMC’s Church Office Manager (denise@pumcfortmill.org or 803-548-0102) to inquire about room availability and protocols for safety before scheduling any gatherings inside the building.

All members and visitors are asked to stay home if they are feeling unwell in any way. Even mild discomfort that we might normally ignore is cause to stay home and participate in the our online worship experience. Additionally, anyone who has experienced high risk exposures is asked to refrain from attending any church events for 14 days.

We are looking forward to connecting with God and one another through safe in-person worship services while at the same time continuing to connect online with those who are not yet able to safely attend in-person.

As the Scripture says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12) Our congregation has lived out that verse! Let us continue in this spirit as we keep attentive to how God is at work among us.

Cleaning Protocol:
The Building will be thoroughly sanitizer prior to and after worship and additionally throughout the week when used by small groups or individuals.

At this time we will continue to clean all, “in use areas” as staff and visitors begin to return to the Church. Areas such as handrails, doorknobs, door handles, counter surfaces, light switches, pews, and all touch surfaces will be regularly cleaned with bleach and Lysol and depending on the surface a special hospital grade detergent (BeyondGreen), that is also a virucide authorized by the US EPA as a registered disinfectant will be used to provide effective cleaning, deodorizing, and disinfection.

Bathrooms will continue to be cleaned with a combination of bleach, Lysol, and BeyondGreen.

The cleanliness of children’s areas has always been a priority and will continue to be thoroughly cleaned according to room usage.

Meeting areas and common spaces will be cleaned and sanitized after each use.