New Guidelines 20 Mar 2020 – Mt Roskill

This update is to let you know what we are doing with the recent government announcements about mass gatherings.

It is understandable that we will all have concerns about this virus especially for our families and older church members.

We want to keep our churches open for as long as we can but at the same time, we must abide by the law and put health and safety and our people first.

Which meetings are continuing?

At this stage we only plan to have Sunday morning and Sunday evening services. We are working on a plan for Junior Church for the following weekend.

All other services are postponed for the foreseeable future. This includes Happy Hour and mid-week services.

We will have the prayer meetings as normal this weekend, but you need to consider the guidelines below for health and safety.

How will we deal with the 100 person limit?

1. The main church will be set up for around 95 people in the pews with a separation of at least 1m between each person to meet the social distancing requirements.
2. We will have a video relay into the prayer hall with seating set up in the same manner but the limit there is 50 seats. There is no Junior Church this weekend.
3. The main auditorium bathroom area will be used by those in the main auditorium and the prayer hall.
4. Because of short notice, for this week only, we ask that families with children do not attend church, however we are planning to have something in place for the children next week.
5. There will be no Creche facilities this weekend.
6. We are working on live streaming, but this will not be available this Sunday.
7. Asian church will continue in the gym and may have some capacity for people to attend that service.
8. We are considering having two services on a Sunday morning but not this coming weekend. 

What do we need to do differently?

1. Stay away if you are unwell
2. This applies to anyone who is or should be self-isolating
3. Keep a distance of 1 metre from other people
4. No hand shaking or any physical contact with other people
5. Wash and dry hands thoroughly and maintain normal personal hygiene
6. The drinking fountain is not to be used, and we encourage anyone who requires water to bring their own water bottle.
7. Because of the 1 metre separation required, we ask that you do not congregate in the foyer area so that prolonged contact is minimised.
8. At the end of a service you need to move through the exits and go straight to your vehicles so that prolonged contact is minimised. You should not all leave out the same door at the same time.

What is happening with other events?

1. All camps are cancelled. This includes ladies camp, children’s camps, senior’s camp and men’s Easter camp
2. All children’s groups are postponed until further notice. This includes Trackers, Rangers, Pathfinders and Sunbeams
3. Mainly Music is postponed until further notice
4. Other sporting events such as Badminton cancelled
5. Friday night witnessing cancelled
6. The Easter outreach is cancelled but there will be a gospel service on Easter weekend
7. The Mother’s Day outreach is cancelled but there will be a gospel service
8. Youth Group is postponed until further notice.  However, we will be putting in place options to connect online and this information will be sent out to YG and YG parents.

Communion

We are reviewing how to have communion safely and for this week there will be no communion

If anyone does want to have the Elders pray for them, we will do that as a group rather individually so that social distancing can be maintained.

Donations

1. For this weekend only, the men taking up offering will walk along the row in front of you with the offering bag and you may place your donation in the bag.  There will be no passing the bag from person to person.
2. We will be placing a collection box at the back of each room for the following weeks.
3. We will be advising you of our new online system for making donations and any other payments.

Encouragement

These are times when we do need to trust the Lord for His protection over us all. This is also an opportunity to show people in our community kindness and the love of Jesus Christ.

We also need to look out for each other especially older people who may feel isolated and vulnerable. Some families may be experiencing financial hardship and stress and we want to help in any way we can.

Please contact us or ring the Church office if you have any questions. We will be emailing regular updates and posting notifications on our website and the new app. If you know anyone who does not have email, please pass this information onto them.

Yours in Christ

Pastor Mellis