Sunday Morning Worship Services
In person worship resumes Sunday, June 28, 2020 at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Both service will continue to be streamed to our Facebook and YouTube pages, as well as this website.
Our Response to COVID-19
The following plan and details were discussed and voted upon by the Reopening Committee and submitted to Session for approval on Wednesday, June 3, 2020; Session voted to approve the plan and details on June 8, 2020.
• In person worship will restart on Sunday, June 28, 2020. Worship services will be held at traditional summer times, 8am and 10am. Both will meet in the sanctuary to better allow for social distancing.
• All attendees will be asked to enter through Pine Street or the Portico entrance. A check in table will be at each entrance where names of attendees will be recorded, a non-touch temperature taken, and items such as masks and hand sanitizer will be available. Bulletins and offering plates will also be placed on each check in table.
• The restrooms in the Westminster Hallway, outside of the lounge, and in the narthex will be open. Areas of the church not needed for worship will be marked with appropriate signage and no entering. These include the offices, Westminster Fellowship Hall, Chapel, Lounge, Library, and Choir Room.
• There will be clear signage at multiple points, including entrances, which encourage attendees to wear masks as a courtesy to others, to stay home if they feel unwell, to wash or sanitize their hands frequently, and to practice social distancing.
• In the sanctuary, social distancing will be encouraged by removing pew cushions from every other row, therefore insuring attendees sit apart from each other. Family units will be encouraged to sit together. All hymnals, bibles, pencils, and other publications will be removed from the pews. There will be hand sanitizers, tissues, and trash cans easily accessible.
• Between the services, janitorial staff and volunteers will sanitize pews and common touch areas in the building, including bathrooms, door handles, etc. Monday mornings, these areas will be thoroughly disinfected.
• During services, special music will be provided weekly. Bulletins will contain the lyrics for a hymn of reflection for each service, but attendees will refrain from singing altogether due to the wider spray of particulates caused by singing according to health and infection-prevention guidelines.
• Services will include a children’s message, with children allowed to come forward and sit on socially distanced mats. At this point, junior church and nursery will remain closed.
• Sunday school and coffee services will remain closed until at least September.
• Church dinners and picnics will remain suspended until at least September.
• Small groups, including committees, youth group, women’s circles, men’s breakfast, and others, may resume meeting immediately. It is recommended that these groups meet in Westminster Fellowship Hall, the Kurtz Meditation Garden, or location off of church property. Using Westminster Hall for the sole meeting area at present enables there to be only one meeting area needing to be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after each use. Westminster Hall also is the best venue to allow appropriate social distancing until risks from the pandemic have passed.
• Sponsored groups, including Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Cub Scouts, may resume meeting immediately. The groups using the Gilmore Scout Room are asked to be responsible for the cleaning and sanitizing of their space following each use, as well as other areas of the church facility which may be approved for scout use.
• ALL small groups, including committees, youth group, women’s circles, and sponsored groups, must provide church office with date, time, and location of meetings. This can be done through a building use request or email to jericho11@verizon.net.
• Vacation Bible School, as held in the past format, has been cancelled for this summer, which is also the case for all churches who are members of the Clearfield Ministerium that had representatives at the most recent ministerium gathering June 2. Christian Education Committee and Family Ministries Director for PCC are encouraged to explore alternatives.
• There is only one building use request for the summer (Strouse-Green Wedding). It is recommended the service be held, with limited guests in the sanctuary, with janitorial staff sanitizing the sanctuary prior to the next worship service.
• The reopening committee will reconvene on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at 6:00pm to review these recommendations following reopening Sunday, June 28, for updating and amending as needed by changing pandemic circumstances.