The time is almost here. Indoor/in-person worship is just under two weeks away. In order for it to be safe for everyone involved, there are some guidelines that we need you to know and to follow. Please read carefully.

Masks are required. One will be supplied for you if you don’t have one.
If you are feeling ill, have a cough, fever, cold or flu symptoms, or been in contact with anyone with COVID-19…stay home.
Please sign-up using “Sign-up Genius” or contact Mark in the office ahead of time (but “Sign-up Genius” is preferred and is available now).
“Walk-ups” will not be allowed.
When you arrive, a check-in will be required to match up who signed up with who showed up. We want to be diligent about who is here for the purposes of contact tracing.
If you do contract Covid-19, or come into contact with someone who does, and were at one of our services, please contact us immediately so we can notify others. Your identity will remain anonymous.
Please, no handshakes or hugs or other physical touching while in our building.
Upon entering the building, please move directly to the sanctuary and have a seat. No gathering with friends. Sorry.
Pick up a bulletin and communion from a table when entering the sanctuary. (You will take these with you when the service is over.)
6’ physical distance will be required for seating, except between members of the same family.
There will be no congregational signing or a physical touching during Passing of the Peace.
Offering plates will not be passed, but there will be a centrally located plate in the Narthex for people to leave an offering.
Restrooms will be available before, during and after the service, but please wipe down after use.
There will be no nursery, or other child care services available.
People will be dismissed from the sanctuary and directed to use specific doors.
There will be no fellowship time at the conclusion of the service.

Perhaps it might seem like we are being over-the-top. Maybe, but as the saying goes, “We would rather be safe than sorry.” Thanks for following these guidelines.

Not only do we need people to follow those guidelines, but we need several other jobs filled in order to have these services. If you are willing, please indicate on the “Sign-up Genius” that you would like to help and what you are willing to do. Prior to the service, you will be contacted about the specific responsibilities of what you signed up for.

Greeters – Stand in usual position just inside the main doors. Welcome people and check them in as they arrive. Ensure that everyone has a mask, is wearing it and provide a mask if needed.

Ushers – Stand near the entrance to the sanctuary behind a table with bulletins and communion elements on it. Welcome people to worship and ask them to pick up (please do not hand out) what is needed for the service.

Cleaners – After the service, we would like a couple of people to wipe down high touch areas, such as doorknobs and tables with bulletins and elements.

Counters – After each service, we need two experienced counters to count and record the offering.

Singers/musicians – While we will not have congregational signing, we will have music and a soloist, (who will be positioned far from others and wear a mask while signing). If you would like to be a soloist, or have another musical gift you would like to share, please contact Pastor Tim.

Lastly, our first service back in the sanctuary, as you know, is Nov. 1. That Sunday is All Saints Sunday. It is a day in which we remember those from our community who have died this past year. If you have a loved one who has died, please email Mark in the church office (office@htelc.com) with their name and picture if you would like their memory to be included in the service. Also, we will not only remember all those from our own community, but all those who have died around the world from the pandemic that caused us to leave our building in the first place. Therefore, while there will be excitement about being some of us being back together in the same physical space, it will be tempered with a heaviness with the reminder of why we had to leave the building to begin with. As of now, over 220,000 people in the US and over 1.1 million people worldwide have died from the coronavirus. We will pray for God to welcome them all into God’s arms and for God to be with all of us as we continue to work our way through this pandemic.

Thanks for all you are doing and have done to keep everyone safe and healthy in our little neck of the woods. I am grateful the people of New England seem to be taking this more seriously than any other place in the US. It is because of this that we feel gathering in our building is even possible.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Tim