Worship Plans

 Indoor Worship with Protocols and Zoom

Bethany is currently holding two Indoor Worship Services on Sunday mornings, for a maximum of 25 people at each service, masked and distanced.  You must sign-up in advance.  (Email bethanylutheranboone@gmail.com to receive a link to the Google Doc sign-up sheet.)  Indoor Worship is for those who can wear face masks.  

The 11am service will also be Zoomed.  (Email bethanylutheranboone@gmail.com if you'd like to receive the Zoom links each week.)

*Homecoming, Oct. 25 will be on ZOOM ONLY*

A dramatic rise in local Covid-19 cases, and positive cases among our membership might cause us to cancel Indoor Worship and go back to online-only worship.  Please continue to self-monitor your symptoms and exposure to others when considering attending worship indoors. 

Other protocols for in-person worship can be found in the following recommendations:

Worship Recommendations

From Bethany Re-Gathering Task Force

September 15, 2020

·         Safety Measures:

o   Masks Required

o   Encourage people to stay home if you feel ill or have been exposed to COVID-19 or have been in other at-risk situations

o   An usher open front door for everyone

o   Offering Plate in Narthex

o   Every other pew roped off for distancing.  A family may sit in the same pew.  Two individuals from different families may sit on opposite ends of the same pew.

o   Use only half of the sanctuary for each service (ie. Early service use lectern side, late service use pulpit side)

o   Pastor Laura would take mask off while leading worship so people can understand her – would be at altar most of the service, and would preach either from the pulpit, slid back away from the piano

o   Take hymnals out of sanctuary

o   Project Service onto a screen, eliminating the need for bulletins

o   Air flow: in cold weather, turn heat on prior to service, but turn off before early service, so air is not being circulated around the room – heat would remain off the rest of the morning, so late service attendees would need to dress warmly

o   Have rubber gloves and hand sanitizer in Narthex to be available as needed

o   No singing 

o   Communion Considerations:

§  Prepare individual disposable bowls with a piece of bread and an individual disposable wine cup, filled – laid out on a cookie sheet tray in advance of the service – have different trays ready for each service, plus have chalice and paten prepared for Pastor Laura to use on the altar

o   No fellowship meals

o   Cleaning between services: using different sides of the sanctuary eliminates the need to sanitize pews; having an usher open the door eliminates number of people touching the doorknob; redesignate the upstairs bathrooms: left bathroom for early service, right bathroom for late service, cleaning supplies and signs asking people to wipe surfaces as they leave bathroom

o   If Pastor Laura is sick or exposed to COVID-19, cancel Indoor Worship and Zoom only, as health allows.

o   If others in congregation have COVID-19, the case count locally goes up dramatically, or any other health/safety concern may cause Council to cancel Indoor Worship on any given week – remind people to check email Sunday morning before they head out the door to see if worship is cancelled.  

o   Funeral & Wedding Consideration – for church members only: have 23 family members indoors; have a way for people to listen/watch from their cars (livestream to mobile devices, people can use church’s WiFi in parking lot, or FM transmitter) so people can sit in parking lot and listen to service and be able to greet family from a distance outside when they leave. 

·         Other Considerations

o   Still no outside groups using the church at this time

o   Homecoming on Oct. 25 will be on Zoom ONLY