May 2020

 

Dear Heartland Family, 

 

We hope and pray that you are staying healthy and, most importantly, encouraged in
Christ. The main purpose of this letter is to communicate our guidelines and practices
related to our reopening for public worship on Sunday, May 31st. In addition to
consultation with other churches, our District and even National Office of the C&MA, we
believe we can reopen responsibly and abide by the parameters set forth in the Restart
Ohio Plan. We are preparing to reopen by thoroughly cleaning our entire building
including scrubbing floors, sanitizing surfaces and disinfecting all of our seating prior to
reopening.

 

For the next several weeks, gathering together will look different than what we are used
to. Due to the circumstances, it is going to require a bit of loving sacrifice from
everyone.     

 

What are we asking of you? 

• First of all, if you plan to come join us for service inside the building, please RSVP by clicking here. This is very important for seating arrangement as seating will be limited due to social distancing measures. Due to the social distancing protocols, we are limiting seating to around 150 people. In the weeks to come, if/when we start to significantly exceed that number in reservations, we will consider adding a second (likely earlier) service.

• Second, when you enter the building/auditorium, please wash or sanitize your hands (we will have sanitizer located throughout our building).  

• Third, we encourage you to wear a mask to protect those around you. Singing and speaking could increase the spread of the virus. While we will not be requiring you to wear one, we are asking that you would please consider it. 

• Fourth, avoid physical contact and being in close proximity with other people. Wave and smile, but please don’t touch.  

• Fifth, if you feel uncomfortable attending because of age or health conditions, or if you are exhibiting any cold or flu-like symptoms (or have been in close contact with someone who is), please stay at home. It might even be helpful if you would take your temperature before leaving the house.  

• Sixth, please be patient and flexible. You may have to wait to be seated and may not be seated in your “preferred” place. Be willing to be inconvenienced for the good of the body as a whole.  

• Lastly, and we think this is the most important thing we are asking of you - please be loving and kind to those who are handling this situation differently than you. Do not look down on someone who feels it is most loving to stay home, or, conversely, to gather together physically. Trust that your brother or sister in Christ is genuinely striving to love others and give them the space to deal with this in a way that doesn’t harm their conscience.   

 

Will other formats be offered?

There will still be a Livestream of our service online if that is the best option for you. We are working through the technology for that and will be communicating what formats we will be livestreaming to, such as Facebook-live, YouTube-live, etc.

 

To summarize, starting May 31st we will have two service formats: inside our
auditorium, and Livestream.  We look forward to worshiping the King together, don’t
forget to RSVP!   

 

Looking forward to being back together again,

 

Your Heartland Leadership