A Message from the Reopening Task Force

June 17, 2021

Thank you all so very much for your continued prayers and patience these past months, and for your tight grip on God’s faithfulness in and through all things. We have needed to lean on this faithfulness throughout the pandemic, and will continue to do so as we take our next steps here at Messiah; steps which we will outline in this message.

Caring for our Neighbor

In John 13:34-35, Jesus gives us a new commandment: Love each other as God loved you first. Then, the world will get to know God. One way that we will continue to do this in our community of faith is by remaining socially distanced from each other while in our building for all worship and ministry-related activities.

Caring for Ourselves

The state of Illinois has also given us some direction when it comes to our life together. To that end, they are asking that anyone who is not fully vaccinated to continue not only social distancing, but also to wear a mask when in crowds of people, such as worship or other ministry-related activities.  If you are vaccinated, you are no longer being asked to wear a mask indoors.  However, if you feel the need to continue wearing a mask for your own comfort level and safety, our community of faith will fully support your decision to do so.

In sum, here is what we would recommend for our next steps:

• Continued social distancing measures while in the building for all worship and ministry-related activities
• Non-vaccinated folks are encouraged to wear a mask when in the building for all worship and ministry-related activities
• Provide an accurate record of who is in attendance at worship for possible contact tracing needs. We will do this by using the pew pads, and no longer need to pre-register for worship

As we learned this past year, things can and do change very quickly, and we want to remind everyone that things may need to change again. If it becomes clear that a change is inevitable, we will do our best to keep you all informed and up to speed. But even as often as things change throughout our life together, God’s faithfulness remains steadfast and sure through it all, and for this, we give thanks!

There will be more information shared during worship in the weeks ahead, and we look forward to seeing you all soon. Until then, God’s blessings to you, and to the life and ministries here at Messiah!

The Food Pantry is remaining opened through this time to meet the needs of those in need of food and other household supplies.  They will be offering pre-packed carts of food/supplies that we will bring out to your vehicle. There will only be service from Noon to 2:00 on Wednesdays – no evening hours at this time.  If you have a need and cannot get here during the operating hours, please call the church office (523-2421) and we will try to assist you.