A Plan for Gathering around Word and Sacrament
Where We Have Been
On Tuesday, March 24th, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-21 (COVID-19) to be in effect until April 13, 2020. (This executive order suspended ‘non-essential’ business, restricted access to ‘essential’ business, and required ‘non-essential’ persons to ‘stay-home.’) On April 10th, with Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-42 that order was extended through April 30th. Executive Order 2020-59 was set to expire on May 15th, but has since been lengthened until May 28th with Executive Order 2020-77. This order has now been extended until June 12th.
It is good to remember that at no point did Governor Whitmer’s Executive Orders forbid churches in Michigan to gather for worship. While there was a national guideline urging gatherings of no more than 10 anywhere for any reason, Governor Whitmer’s order gave a limit of 50 for churches. Consistent with previous Executive Orders relating to COVID-19, the current Executive Order 2020-92 states:
Consistent with prior guidance, neither a place of religious worship nor its owner is subject to penalty under section 20 [section 20 laying out financial penalties for infractions] of this order for allowing religious worship at such place. No individual is subject to penalty under section 20 of this order for engaging in or traveling to engage in religious worship at a place of religious worship, or for violating section 15(a) [wearing of a facemask] of this order.
On Thursday, March 19th, based on national guidance and congregational response, the church councils of Faith Lutheran of Harrison and St. John Lutheran of Clare recommended suspending in-person worship. This recommendation mirrored similar decisions made by an overwhelming majority of community congregations and Michigan District WELS congregations.
It is also important to remember that the rationale given for implementing the “shut down,” was to “flatten the curve” of cases so that our health care capability was not overwhelmed. At her May 7th press conference, Governor Whitmer stated that Michigan is currently in the “Flattening Phase” of her “Reopening Plan.” This means, Michigan cases have flattened and are presently in gradual decline. As of May 29th, no one in Faith Lutheran or St. John Lutheran has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or has displayed symptoms of this illness.
Finally, it should also be noted that recommendations concerning COVID-19 arrive from three very credible sources: The White House Task Force, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Office of the Governor. Please understand, national representatives offer ‘recommendations,’ but the governor gives the ‘order.’ Citizens of the state of Michigan must abide by the governor’s order, but are not under obligation to national recommendations.
Drawing from both state restrictions and national recommendations, Faith Lutheran and St. John Lutheran present
A Rationale for Resuming Public Worship
Faith Lutheran of Harrison and St. John Lutheran of Clare eagerly desire to re-open ministry in a safe and intentional way. The reasons for doing so are both physical and spiritual.
Due to these significant spiritual and practical concerns, Faith Lutheran and St. John Lutheran present
A Plan for Resuming Public Worship
In her most recent press conference, Governor Whitmer admitted what, by now, most of us already assume: The coronavirus will be a fact of life until (1) a successful vaccine becomes readily available and/or (2) a successful treatment becomes readily available. Most experts agree that the earliest possibility of a vaccine will appear by early 2021.
At the same time, we will need encouragement to begin to assemble corporately so that we can worship, grow in the Word, receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and return to a more active participation in Bible studies, and to do all of this without fear and with confidence.
That said, it is also true that we may need to overcome misinformation and unrealistic expectations regarding the threat coronavirus presents as we move forward as a congregation. Great care must be taken to avoid politicizing this issue, and where misinformation has been promoted it will need to be corrected by fact.
Members of Faith Lutheran and St. John Lutheran do fall into different categories of risk. According to the Center for Disease Control, the following face a higher risk of infection from COVID-19:
General Procedures
Holy Communion Procedures
With these guidelines drawn from national and state resources, Faith Lutheran and St. John Lutheran will resume worship at normal worship times on Sunday, June 7, 2020.
On Tuesday, March 24th, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-21 (COVID-19) to be in effect until April 13, 2020. (This executive order suspended ‘non-essential’ business, restricted access to ‘essential’ business, and required ‘non-essential’ persons to ‘stay-home.’) On April 10th, with Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-42 that order was extended through April 30th. Executive Order 2020-59 was set to expire on May 15th, but has since been lengthened until May 28th with Executive Order 2020-77. This order has now been extended until June 12th.
It is good to remember that at no point did Governor Whitmer’s Executive Orders forbid churches in Michigan to gather for worship. While there was a national guideline urging gatherings of no more than 10 anywhere for any reason, Governor Whitmer’s order gave a limit of 50 for churches. Consistent with previous Executive Orders relating to COVID-19, the current Executive Order 2020-92 states:
Consistent with prior guidance, neither a place of religious worship nor its owner is subject to penalty under section 20 [section 20 laying out financial penalties for infractions] of this order for allowing religious worship at such place. No individual is subject to penalty under section 20 of this order for engaging in or traveling to engage in religious worship at a place of religious worship, or for violating section 15(a) [wearing of a facemask] of this order.
On Thursday, March 19th, based on national guidance and congregational response, the church councils of Faith Lutheran of Harrison and St. John Lutheran of Clare recommended suspending in-person worship. This recommendation mirrored similar decisions made by an overwhelming majority of community congregations and Michigan District WELS congregations.
It is also important to remember that the rationale given for implementing the “shut down,” was to “flatten the curve” of cases so that our health care capability was not overwhelmed. At her May 7th press conference, Governor Whitmer stated that Michigan is currently in the “Flattening Phase” of her “Reopening Plan.” This means, Michigan cases have flattened and are presently in gradual decline. As of May 29th, no one in Faith Lutheran or St. John Lutheran has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or has displayed symptoms of this illness.
Finally, it should also be noted that recommendations concerning COVID-19 arrive from three very credible sources: The White House Task Force, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Office of the Governor. Please understand, national representatives offer ‘recommendations,’ but the governor gives the ‘order.’ Citizens of the state of Michigan must abide by the governor’s order, but are not under obligation to national recommendations.
Drawing from both state restrictions and national recommendations, Faith Lutheran and St. John Lutheran present
A Rationale for Resuming Public Worship
Faith Lutheran of Harrison and St. John Lutheran of Clare eagerly desire to re-open ministry in a safe and intentional way. The reasons for doing so are both physical and spiritual.
- God has blessed us with tremendous technological abilities. Beginning March 22nd Faith Lutheran and St. John Lutheran have recorded worship services, uploaded service on YouTube, shared service on the St. John Facebook page, and emailed out digital copies of service and sermon. For those without internet, worship materials were delivered either through postal or in-person delivery. While we were fed spiritually, worship-from-home is the exception, not the norm. Scripture makes clear that worship is a corporate matter, meaning, Christians seek to physically gather in worship. “Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have the habit of doing. Rather, let us encourage each other, and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). Even Jesus, the Son of God, attended in-person worship every Sabbath day. [Jesus] went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read (Luke 4:16). Technology is a blessing, but the state of Michigan presently allows for in-person worship.
- While communion reception is available by appointment, overall attendance at the Lord’s Table has virtually ceased. God certainly grants us forgiveness of sins apart from the sacrament (John 20:19-21). At the same time, Christians cling to God’s Word, including Jesus’ encouragement to partake of the sacrament as often as possible (Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25). In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus comes to us personally with his special blessing of forgiveness (Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:19-20; Ephesians 1:7; Revelation 1:4-5), strength for Christian living (1 Corinthians 11:26; 1 Peter 2:24-25), and assurance of eternal life (Romans 5:9, 6:22-23). We desire to make use of the sacrament when and where it is offered.
- Christians face a unique challenge at present. On the one hand, we hold a sincere care for the wellbeing of our neighbor. At the same time, the devil, the world, and our sinful nature will attempt twisting even a pandemic for spiritual harm.
- Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’” He said that in response to Satan’s temptation to think of his physical needs above his spiritual needs. Executive Orders have signaled for several weeks that trips to the grocery store, hardware store, or greenhouse is an acceptable and necessary activity, but going to hear the Word of God at church is an unacceptable and unnecessary risk. The devil, world, and our sinful nature can lead us to guard personal health at the expense of spiritual health.
- God’s Fourth Commandment calls for obedience to and support for our governing authorities (Exodus 20:12; Romans 13:1-7), unless they command us to disobey God (Acts 5:29). As noted above, our governing authorities have not outlawed worship, but have actually allowed “limited” access to public worship.
- The economic shutdown has promoted serious relational and financial stress. In many phone conversations, personal safety weighs heavy on the mind. The devil would love to exploit these fears so that we lose sight of Jesus. Encouragement from both pastor and Christian friends help fight temptation. Returning to worship offers the practical benefit of a return to normalcy.
Due to these significant spiritual and practical concerns, Faith Lutheran and St. John Lutheran present
A Plan for Resuming Public Worship
In her most recent press conference, Governor Whitmer admitted what, by now, most of us already assume: The coronavirus will be a fact of life until (1) a successful vaccine becomes readily available and/or (2) a successful treatment becomes readily available. Most experts agree that the earliest possibility of a vaccine will appear by early 2021.
At the same time, we will need encouragement to begin to assemble corporately so that we can worship, grow in the Word, receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and return to a more active participation in Bible studies, and to do all of this without fear and with confidence.
That said, it is also true that we may need to overcome misinformation and unrealistic expectations regarding the threat coronavirus presents as we move forward as a congregation. Great care must be taken to avoid politicizing this issue, and where misinformation has been promoted it will need to be corrected by fact.
Members of Faith Lutheran and St. John Lutheran do fall into different categories of risk. According to the Center for Disease Control, the following face a higher risk of infection from COVID-19:
- People 65 years and older
- People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility
- People of all ages with underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled, including:
- People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma
- People who have serious heart conditions
- People who are immuno-compromised due to cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications
- People with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher)
- People with diabetes
- People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis
- People with liver disease
General Procedures
- We ask that those with symptoms of COVID-19 or who have been in recent contact with someone has been tested for and diagnosed with COVID-19 refrain from corporate worship and Bible study. (The CDC recommends a 14-day self-quarantine.)
- Attendees are welcome, but not obligated, to wear a facemask. (The current Executive Order 2020-92 does not mandate a facemask in worship.) If you do not have a facemask and desire one, Faith Lutheran and St. John Lutheran may provide a fabric facemask.
- Main entry doors will be propped open before and after service in order to avoid contact with the door handle.
- Hand sanitizer will be available around the building for attendees to use.
- We will refrain from physical contact with fellow worshippers.
- We will refrain from congregating in public areas. Please consider conversing outdoors (weather permitting).
- Ushers will assist attendees without contact. This may include leading individuals to a pew, offering direction, or offering personal assistance.
- Every other pew will be blocked off. Members of the same household may fill one pew. We kindly ask that worshippers sit a reasonable distance from those not of their household (for example: two single individuals may sit in one pew, but at opposite ends. Or, a couple may sit together at one pew-end, while a single individual sits at the other end [striving to maintain 6-feet between the two parties]). As needed, overflow seating will be set up in open areas of the facility.
- Bulletins will be tucked into hymnals. Hymnals will remain in pew racks. (The coronavirus lasts between 24-hours to 5-days on paper surfaces. Weekly worship provides seven-days in between gatherings, enough time for any possible contamination to end.) Nevertheless, hymnals will be cleaned after each worship service.
- The collection plate will not be passed during service. Offerings may be placed in the offering plate located at the sanctuary entrance either upon entering or leaving the sanctuary.
- Pastor will dismiss attendees upon conclusion of worship. This allows for an orderly, socially-distant recess, while at the same time allowing Pastor to greet each attendee individually.
- Special care will be given to use disinfectant wipes to wipe down common surfaces before and after each worship service, (for example, door handles used by attendees, light switches, bathroom fixtures, table surfaces, etc.)
Holy Communion Procedures
- Those setting up the elements for Holy Communion will don a mask and wash hands before preparing the elements. The same individual will wash hands before storing the elements and wipe down/wash communion ware after worship.
- For the foreseeable future, we will offer wine only by individual cup, separating the cups so that each communicant will only come into contact with the cup he or she is taking.
- The pastor will hand sanitize before uncovering the elements and hand sanitize before distribution begins. He will distribute the bread first and then step back to announce the reception (in order to maintain appropriate distance). He will do likewise with the wine. Finally, he will step back to announce the blessing and dismissal.
- Communicants who prefer to commune privately will arrange with Pastor Ewald to do so.
- Our tables for Holy Communion will be limited to a maximum of 4 communicants in order to maintain 6 feet of social distancing (with the exception that family units may commune close together) For the foreseeable future, communicants will not kneel. The floor will be marked to indicate where communicants may stand.
- The usher will direct the appropriate number of communicants forward (thus eliminating a ‘waiting line’), starting with one side of the sanctuary first. He will then return to usher forward the other side.
With these guidelines drawn from national and state resources, Faith Lutheran and St. John Lutheran will resume worship at normal worship times on Sunday, June 7, 2020.
