This Sunday, July 5th, Church of the Messiah will hold its first worship service that will be open to the public since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic in March.  After an unfortunate delay last week, we are so blessed and excited to be able to gather in the sanctuary of Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church, the church from whom we lease our current building. Throughout the month of July, Ft. Caroline Presbyterian will be graciously allowing us to worship in their sanctuary which can seat up to 300 people so that our congregation may gather together once again and still maintain appropriate social distancing.  We are so excited to be able to worship together (in person) once again after worshiping together on-line for four months.

It should be obvious that everything will not be exactly like it was in January of this year.  COVID-19 is very real in Duval County and Mayor Lenny Curry has recently enacted an executive order requiring the wearing of masks or face coverings in public places where social distancing is not possible.  In light of these circumstances, please take a few moments and read the following.

You will be required to wear a mask or maintain social distance.  We will be submitted to the regulations of our city as St. Paul commends us. (Romans 13:1)  This means that, for those who are over six years old, if you are within six feet of someone who does not live within your household, you will need to be wearing a mask.  We will have masks available for those who do not own their own.  When people are in their seats, and seated six feet away from those outside of their households, masks need not be worn.  When people are receiving Holy Communion, masks need not be worn.  Please note that some people may have medical conditions which prevent them from wearing masks.  That is permissible according to the executive order.

Honor and respect other people’s choices.  Part of “walking in love” in acknowledging that people will make choices that differ from our own and respecting those choices.  If someone does not want a hug or a handshake like they did months ago, we all need to respect that.  Likewise, there may be some people who, for medical reasons, are not wearing masks.  If you are uncomfortable being near those people, there will be plenty of seats far enough away for you to be safe.  No one needs to be notified and you need not inquire about their medical condition.

Conversations are best held outside in the open air. The mayor’s executive order does not require the wearing of masks outside.  If you would like to have conversations with friends who you have not seen in months, we encourage you to do so in the open air where you need not wear a mask and where the breeze helps disperse all those wicked little germs.

We will continue to live stream our service on our Facebook page for those who are not present with us in the sanctuary.  We ask the those whom the Centers for Disease Control considers especially vulnerable or at higher risk for infection (older adults, those with lung, heart, or liver disease, or those with autoimmune issues) to prayerfully consider staying home.  At the same time, we must insist that those who feel sick, or those who have been in contact with anyone has been sick or who might possibly have COVID-19 stay home.  Church of the Messiah has been blessed with a phenomenal record thus far of zero infections and we do not want that record to ever come to an end.  We will be working with Fr. Looker, the Rector’s Council, and various ministry leaders throughout the week in order to ensure that we are able to worship The Lord in the most glorious way possible while also being as safe as possible.

There will be a few other minor changes that go along with worshiping in a new space and with all of the COVID-19 requirements, but we are confident that our clergy, ushers, and volunteers will make everyone feel right at home!

Ultimately, we are so blessed that we will be able to worship together this Sunday, July 5th, starting at 10 o’clock, in the sanctuary of Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church. We are so excited to see everyone again in person!