SALEM LUTHERAN CHURCH



SALEM LUTHERAN CHURCH

CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COMMUNICATIONS

Since Governor J.B. Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-10 in March, Salem Lutheran Church has continued to function in an honorable modified manner.

• Our church was closed for public gathering as of March 21, 2020. Since then, we have been offering our Sunday morning services with worship and the Word online and on WJBD radio. During that time, our viewing audience has grown exponentially.

• Our staff has stayed in touch with our members through phone calls, One Call Now messages, youth mailings, newsletters, and the like. We have striven to meet the needs of our church family as they arose from day to day.

Thank you for your encouraging words and your kind feedback – especially to our survey request. It is an honor to do what we can during these unprecedented times to keep our church family connected.

TRANSIENT VS. CONGREGANT

One thing that many Christians have been asking throughout this pandemic is why people can go to Wal-Mart or a fast food restaurant but they have been prohibited from attending church. The difference is that one is a transient situation and the other is a congregant situation. A transient business is one in which people are constantly moving in and out, like a grocery story or a fast food pick up, while a congregant facility is one in which people arrive at the same time, stay, sit, and congregate for a period of time in a closed setting. Obviously the virus is going to have the opportunity to spread more easily to our friends and fellow members that we are worshipping with for a period of time than to someone we just pass by in the store. As a result indoor activities (including worship) have been given much stricter guidelines for reopening than has fast food pick up and the like. We ask for your gracious patience and understanding as we try to protect our members during his confusing and ever-changing time.

LOVE, HONOR, AND WISDOM

While we are so glad to be coming together soon, the health and safety of our church family remain the highest priority to all of us in leadership here at Salem Lutheran. We have been and continue to prayerfully seek the Holy Spirit’s wisdom as we gently, and slowly begin to reopen using Scriptural priorities, such as the following:

• 1 Corinthians 16:14 (CEV) “Show love in everything you do.”

• 1 Corinthians 13:4-7,13 (NIV) “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

• Matthew 22:37-39 (NLT) Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

• Phillippians 2:3-4 (NLT) “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

• Proverbs 4:6 (NLT) “Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you.”

• 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (NLT) You say, “I am allowed to do anything” – but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything” – but not everything is beneficial. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.

President Trump and Governor J. B. Pritzker have both now declared the church to be an “essential” service. They have opened the way for our gatherings to begin again. Both the office of the Central Illinois District and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod websites have verbiage affirming that many of our churches are staging or beginning to reopen.

Long before this moment, Salem Lutheran Church leadership has been prayerfully working through the details of this uncharted journey. They have worked with both the Marion County Health Department Director, Melissa Mallow, to get her direction as well as with our insurance provider, Church Mutual, which also has specific guidelines and expectations for churches to follow at this time. Many, many details needed to be looked at, considered, and discussed so a plan could be developed and so we could get approval from the necessary authorities to move forward responsibly for everyone’s safety and without any unnecessary liability or loss both from a physical standpoint as well as a financial standpoint.

OUR OPENING ANNOUNCEMENT

After much prayer and preparation, the pastors and leadership of Salem Lutheran Church feel that the time has come for physical gatherings to be offered again.

We acknowledge that we are creating a risk when we open our doors. However, our goal is to protect our people in the safest way possible and we are taking measures to lower that risk for all who attend. However, for those who are uncomfortable with returning in person at this point, we encourage you to continue worshiping from home until we have a clearer understanding of the affects of worshiping together.

It is our goal to operate at partial capacity for social distancing as we implement some safety modifications.

PLEASE NOTE

For those who are at risk, elderly, or have any hesitation to attend,

CHURCH ONLINE AND ON THE RADIO

will continue to be offered on all sites that we’ve

previously been using:

WJBD (1350 AM) and WSIQ (92.1 FM)

Our website –

Our Facebook page – slcyouth

YouTube – Salem Lutheran Church, Salem IL

SUNDAY SCHOOL, BIBLE CLASS

and all other meetings and activities, both large and small, will be considered and reintroduced to our church calendar as we observe the successful reopening of our

Sunday morning worship services.

WE PLAN FOR SUNDAY SERVICES TO BEGIN ON

SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2020

PLEASE NOTE:

• All of the following measures are intended to be temporary as we gently and slowly take steps to return to a more typical, yet healthy public gathering at Salem Lutheran.

• SLC Pastors and Elders will be closely observing the impacts on churches that have opened or will be reopening over the next few weeks. Our first concern is for your safety and well being. The vast majority of our Salem Lutheran church family affirmed this priority by way of the survey that was returned by 197 members.

• Therefore, June 14, 2020 is a target date for reopening Sunday services and will be contingent upon real data available at that time.

On Sundays we will have THREE morning services, each lasting approximately 45 minutes.

WE ARE GRATEFUL THAT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE INDICATED

ON THE SURVEY THAT THEY WOULD BE WILLING

TO ATTEND WORSHIP AT A DIFFERENT TIME SLOT

THAN THEY HAVE ATTENDED IN THE PAST.

These services will be very similar to what we are currently offering online

and will include worship, prerecorded singing, and a sermon.

SERVICE ONE - 8:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.

• The double doors going into the narthex will open at 7:45 a.m. (All other doors will be locked.) This service is for those and their families who are 65 and up who may have concerns about public gathering. This group will be the first to use the clean, prepared Sanctuary on Sundays. Seating will be limited to 75 people based on the Illinois Department of Public Health Guidelines for our facility.

• Members who are younger than 65 with underlying medical conditions or weakened immune systems are also welcome to attend the 8:00 a.m. service.

• At the end of the service, members will be DISMISSED FROM THEIR PEWS by our ushers. Our pastors will be greeting but will not be shaking hands with members as they leave the sanctuary.

• Members will be asked to exit the building through the same double doors that they entered as they are dismissed from the sanctuary. We ask that visiting and fellowship take place in the parking lot, not in the narthex, while observing social distancing recommendations.

• The 45 MINUTES following each service will be dedicated to cleaning our facilities for the upcoming service; all publicly impacted surfaces and restrooms will be cleaned.

SERVICE TWO – 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

• The double doors going into the narthex will open at 9:15 a.m. (All other doors will be locked.). This service is for general attendance (all ages). Seating will be limited to 75 people based on the Illinois Department of Public Health Guidelines for our facility.

• At the end of the service, members will be DISMISSED FROM THEIR PEWS by our ushers. Our pastors will be greeting but will not be shaking hands with members as they leave the sanctuary.

• Members will be asked to exit the building through the same double doors that they entered as they are dismissed from the sanctuary. We ask that visiting and fellowship take place in the parking lot, not in the narthex, while observing social distancing recommendations.

• The 45 MINUTES following each service will be dedicated to cleaning our facilities for the upcoming service; all publicly impacted surfaces and restrooms will be cleaned

SERVICE THREE – 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

• The double doors going into the narthex will open at 10:45 a.m. (All other doors will be locked.). This service is for general attendance (all ages). Seating will be limited to 75 people based on the Illinois Department of Public Health Guidelines for our facility.

• Members will be asked to exit the building through the same double doors that they entered as they are dismissed from the sanctuary. We ask that visiting and fellowship take place in the parking lot, not in the narthex, while observing social distancing recommendations.

• The 45 MINUTES following each service will be dedicated to cleaning our facilities for the upcoming service; all publicly impacted surfaces and restrooms will be cleaned.

PLEASE NOTE

Seating will be limited to 75 people per service based on the Illinois Department of Public Health Guidelines for our specific facility size.

IN ORDER FOR US TO COMPLY WITH THESE LIMITS, IT WILL

BE NECESSARY FOR THOSE ATTENDING WORSHIP TO

REGISTER FOR A SPECIFIC SERVICE TIME.

This can be done online by using the Sign Up Genius on our website () or by calling the church office and requesting to reserve a spot for you and your family. We hope and pray that this will be a temporary measure, but we ask for your understanding at this time in complying with this necessary request for the safety and well-being of all fellow worshippers.

OTHER DETAILS FOR REOPENING

”Show love in everything you do.” I Corinthians 16:14 (CEV)

We will be honoring the advice from appropriate authorities as we embrace CDC social distancing and health parameters. All attendees are strongly encouraged to join us in our efforts to keep everyone safe by following these best-practices.

• If you or anyone in your household is sick or symptomatic, please attend church ONLINE AT HOME. Let us know about your situation and a pastor will be in touch with you to pray for you and supply help in any way that we can.

• Our children are always welcome; however, we request that parents and guardians keep their children with them during this time. No Children’s Church or nursery services will be offered during this time. The Nursery area will only be open for a parent to attend to their own child’s needs. (Parents – please be sure to sanitize areas you come in contact with while in the nursery. Thank you!)

• Offerings will be gathered just inside the sanctuary doors and will not be collected by passing a plate.

• We will temporarily discontinue the use of our friendship pads to gather the attendance information we need to annually provide to The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Instead we will be using individual attendance cards that you will find in the pew. Please complete the card with the same information that we would request on the friendship pad and drop your attendance card in the offering plate as you exit the sanctuary.

• In order to be able to accommodate three services each Sunday morning and to limit exposure during the distribution of Holy Communion, we will continue to offer Communion on the Tuesday / Thursday schedule that was explained in the June newsletter you recently received. If you have questions about registering for this Sacrament, please contact the church office.

• Singing / Recitation– The guidelines issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health (5/28/20) state that continuing to sing and do group recitations in church services requires a social distancing increase to at least 10 feet between groups and the need to ensure that face coverings are worn. As a result, prerecorded music will be used during our services in place of congregational singing for the time being and all hymnals will be removed from the pews. We kindly ask that in the spirit of love for our neighbor, members in attendance refrain from singing and verbal recitation until the authorities are able to determine how gathering in larger groups affects the number of positive cases. Our two pastors will do the responsive readings with one pastor responding on behalf of the congregation.

• The double doors leading into the sanctuary will be opened 15 minutes before the service. The narthex will not be used as a gathering place and no coffee/donuts will be available during this time. On days when the weather is decent, entry and exit doors will be propped open to avoid unnecessary contact and fellowship may occur outside with social distancing in effect.

• Cleaning – There will be a 45-minute period of time between each service to clean restrooms and commonly used areas. Volunteers will be needed between services each week, so please consider helping and contact the church office to sign up.

• Face coverings are encouraged but are not required. Our volunteers and staff will wear masks in appropriate public areas. Facial masks will be available for those who choose to use them.

• Thank you in advance for your consideration in allowing us to use a no-touch thermometer as you arrive to attend a service. A temperature check is a temporary measure and it is an expression of love as we seek to provide a healthy and safe environment for all attending. As in all doctor’s office or many other public places, if you have a temperature of 100.4 or above you and your family members will be asked to not enter the sanctuary until the issue has been completely resolved.

• Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the building. Gloves are not required.

• Water fountains will be unavailable during this time. Feel free to bring bottled water with you if you feel you or your child will need a drink.

• We kindly request that you do not shake hands or exchange hugs at this time. We can genuinely express our love for a season without close physical contact.

• Six feet of space between family groupings will be observed. Persons from the same household sitting together would help us to maximize our seating during this time. Every second row of seats will be marked off and will be not used. Spacing will be visually marked.

As always, your kind input is welcome. Please contact one of the staff members or an Elder with your questions or concerns.

The leadership of Salem Lutheran Church has established and will maintain communication with local and state authorities to determine current mitigation levels in our community. As the situation continues to develop, plans are subject to change, so please pray for discernment, grace, and wise decision–making as we navigate these uncharted areas as a church family.

We are looking forward to worshipping with you!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

SOCIAL DISTANCING SEATING INSTRUCTIONS

The seats of the pews are marked on 24” spacing to assist you with achieving the recommended social distancing of six feet. Families can and should sit next to each other as a group.

If the person next to you is not a member of your family, allow three (3) empty spaces between you and them.

Only every other pew is to be occupied. You are not to sit in the pews where the seats are not marked off. This will result in six feet social distancing in front and in back of you.

The seats next to the aisles always provide at least six feet social distancing with the seat directly across the aisle.

If you have questions or need help with seating, ushers are available to assist.

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