Is It Safe to Return?

In deciding whether it is safe to return to your church for worship gatherings and other church activities, here are some things to consider:

Is the rate of infection in your area very low? For how long? A day or two? Several weeks? Or is it rising after having gone down and then plateaued?

What are the infection rates in surrounding areas?

Have the more infectious COVID-19 variants been reported in your area? Surrounding areas?

What is the CDC recommending about gathering with others?

What are your local health authorities recommending about gathering with others?

What is the percentage of people who are completely vaccinated in your area? Surrounding areas?

What is the CDC saying that people who are fully vaccinated can do? What the CDC saying that they should avoid doing? What precautions is the CDC advising them to take?

Do you have anyone in your household who is at high risk if they become infected with the virus? The categories of those who are at high risk have been expanded in recent months.

What is the attitude of your pastor and other church leaders toward the pandemic? 

Before the pandemic I was attending two churches. The pastor who serves as a supply for the first church on communion Sundays told people to throw away their face masks. He held services at his own church when other churches temporarily suspended their services at the urging of the governor due to a surging infection rate across the state. The pastor of the second church follows denominational and judicatorial guidelines for safeguarding churches and their communities. He regularly consults with judicatorial officials, the local health authorities, and his own church's leadership team. 

What is the attitude of members of your church? 

Several members of the first church have been attending the church of the supply pastor who told people to throw away their masks.  One member has been making regular trips to an area with a high infection rate. By his own account he has not been paying attention to the infection rate in the area where he lives and the place where he works. The members of the second church generally wear face masks, social distance, and take other recommended precautionary measures. They encourage others to the same and are supportive of those who do.

What kind of precautionary measures has your church implemented? Smaller gatherings? Shorter gatherings? Shorter sermons? Face masks? Social distancing? Hand sanitizer stations? What kind of precautionary measures does it advise members to take?

How well ventilated is your church?

What restrictions, if any, has your church placed on singing? Placed a temporary moratorium on congregational singing? Limited the number of singers on the platform and requires them to wear face masks and maintain a safe distance from one another?

Is your church advising its members to get vaccinated?

Are the members of your church getting vaccinated? What percentage of the church membership is vaccinated?

What kind of system, if any, has your church put in place to notify attendees that they may have been exposed to the virus?

Does your church offer online services for those who are unable or unready to attend in-person services?