David Donnan

Dear Church Family,

We are eager to return to in person worship!

We obviously want to do that in a safe and responsible way. 

As your pastor and the head elected leaders of your church, we have been in conversation about the best way to move forward. In these conversations, we have been guided by the words of Jesus in Mark 12:31 when he said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That is always our goal as a church and we want to practice the classic Wesleyan principle of “do no harm.” We know worship will look different even after we return. Also, please understand that plans can change – we will constantly be looking out for what is the best for us here in Twin City.

With that in mind, here is what we are planning for moving forward:

1. Resume in person worship on Sunday, June 21, 2020.
2. Please stay home and watch online if you or anyone in your house does not feel well.
3. Two Service Times – 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Our services will be approximately 30 minutes.
4. We will ask you to enter through the pre-school side entrance of the church and exit through the front doors. This will keep people moving in the same direction.
5. We will practice safe social distancing within the sanctuary. Seating will be in every other pew. Ushers will be available to assist everyone in seating to ensure proper spacing. Families will be allowed to sit together.
6. We will clean and sanitize surfaces in between service times and during the week. We will also have hand sanitizer available at the doors and you’re welcome to bring your own.
7. We highly recommend face masks be worn while in the sanctuary for worship, even for those who do not feel vulnerable. This is a great way to love our neighbor at this time.
8. Bathrooms will be available for those who may need them while in the building.
9. We will continue to offer online worship for those who are not ready to return yet. There will be no pressure or judgment if you want to stay online for the time being! 
10. For the time being, we will not have Sunday School, Nursery, or Children’s Church on Sunday mornings.
11. Considering how recent studies of how the virus can spread through congregational singing, we will continue to have special music only in our services and no congregational singing. This will help to limit the further spread and is another way that we can love our neighbor in this time.

As you can see, there is a lot that goes into this decision to re-open for worship! And these are all plans and we all know plans can change based on circumstances. We will probably have to make adjustments and corrections moving forward. We ask for your patience and your grace as we try to sort this all out. We all believe in the importance of in-person worship and being in the sanctuary that is so special to all of us. We look forward to being together. We look forward to worshiping God in his house. And we want to continue to love our neighbor as ourselves!

Grace and Peace,

Rev. David Donnan, Pastor

Jimmy Mincey, Admin Board Chair

Paula Hall, Lay Leader

Clark Dixon, Trustee Chair

Brandon Jones, Pastor-Parish Relations Chair

Kaye Mincey, Pre-School

Kenton Landon, Finance Chair

Sybil Johnson, Treasurer

Maria Woodger, One Board Member

Patti Hendley, One Board Member

Jim Nix, Lay Delegate to Annual Conference