Dear Friends,
As you are probably aware, in-person services of worship at Salem will resume on Sunday, August 2 nd , at 10:30 a.m. In order to comply with the physical distancing practices, put forth by the county as well as the guidelines for a safe return to in-person worship put forth by our insurance company we have established the process that we will implement for those who are interested in returning in-person worship.
Seating in our sanctuary will be limited in order to provide for social and physical distancing. We are asking that persons interested in attending in-person worship RSVP online on signup genius or by calling the church office at 892-7456 by noon on Wednesday prior to worship that you plan to attend (in the case of the August 2 nd worship service, for example, that would be July 29 th ). When you RSVP we will need to know:
- How many from your household will attend
- Who will be attending
- A cell phone number (or license plate number if you do not have a cell phone) to help us seat people on Sunday morning.
- On Communion Sundays, we will need to know if you or anyone in your party is in need of gluten free Communion elements. (As the elements will have been placed in your pew ahead of your arrival)
Knowing the information listed above, we can better configure the sanctuary seating for that week to make more efficient use of the space we have and to allow for physical distancing. It will also help us to be provide responsible contact tracing of those present should an outbreak or exposure occur within our service of worship.
On Sunday mornings, we are asking those who have RSVP’d to attend be present in the church’s east parking lot by 10:15 a.m. Sunday. At that time, we will begin to contact people by cell phone (or approach the vehicle for those who do not have cell phones) as we seat people row by row. As you enter the church building:
- You will need to wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth. If you do not have a mask available to you, one will be provided. We will also have reusable personal protective face shields for those who have difficulty wearing masks due to health conditions.
- You will encounter a posting listing the known COVID-19 symptoms and will be asked not to enter if you have experienced any of the posted symptoms or have been in contact with someone who has tested positive of COVID-19 within the past 14 days or if you or someone you live with has been told by a health care professional to self-quarantine.
- There will be a basket to receive offering envelopes in the narthex
- Please sanitize your hands using the hand sanitizer provide upon entry to the building
- Ushers will direct people to pre-assigned seats. (again, for contact tracing and exposure protocols)
- After worship has concluded, persons in the front half of the sanctuary will leave through the exit doors near the east storage room; persons in the back half of the church will leave the sanctuary through the east entrance doors. We will dismiss people row by row.
We realize that this is all very strange and new, but we are trying to be good neighbors and make the in-person worship experience as safe as possible by following guidelines suggested by the wider church, by our insurance carrier, and by county health authorities. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding. We will continue to offer a streaming worship service live at 8:30am on Sunday mornings for those who prefer to worship in that way during this time.
Your servants in Christ,
Rev Jim Hoppert, Pastor
Marsha Meyer, Director of Youth & Family Ministries
