CHUMC Family,
As we prepare for Christmas Eve and the First Sunday After Christmas, I write to share some news regarding worship over the next week.
Our Christmas Eve Offering this year will go to Mercy Ships which seeks to provide much-needed healthcare across the globe.
Also, our COVID-19 safety team has decided that, due to the spread of the Omicron variant and the potential for larger attendance on these days, we need to take some added precautions on Christmas Eve and the First Sunday After Christmas on December 26.
With that in mind, please prepare for the following:
- All in attendance will be asked to wear masks.
- Those who are singing and speaking shall remove their masks while doing so. The one exception is the pastor will wear a mask while presiding over Holy Communion.
- We will maintain social distancing as much as the crowd size will allow. Ushers will be on hand to show people to their seats, sitting people on every other row until the crowd size requires otherwise.
- Everyone will be asked to sit within the family/household unit.
- During Holy Communion, people will receive Holy Communion by processing, one row at a time, down the center aisle. There, they will be served the bread with tongs and juice from the tray of individually poured cups. Afterwards, they will return to their seats via the outside aisles.
- Everyone will depart through the Fellowship Hall and wait until they are outside to congregate.
- Offerings may be dropped in the offering box as you enter the worship space or as you exit.
We thank you for your cooperation in these matters as we seek to continue to gather safely for worship as we have throughout this pandemic.
Grace and peace,
Rev. J.D. Allen