Worship Service Sign Up

Members, friends, and visitors of AdventELC must reserve their seats to attend an in-building worship service.  This is for both the parish and parishioner.  If you do not have a reservation for a worship service and there are no seats available you will be turned away from the building for that particular time of worship.  We do not want to do this.  But we will, in order to keep everyone safe as well as maintain order and fairness.  A link for this sign up/reservation will be provided on our website (AdventELC.org/reopen), weekly email newsletter (E-herald on Fridays at noon), and social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).  If someone is having trouble making a reservation, they are asked to contact the church office at 614-451-3639 to talk to Mary Garland or leave a message which will be returned for help and/or confirmation.

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All are welcome, Some should stay home

Per the Ohio Department of Health Director’s Stay Safe Ohio Order, elderly people and those who are vulnerable as a result of illness should take additional precautions. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a federal agency) those at high-risk for severe illness from COVID-19 include people who are sixty-five years or older and people of all ages with underlying medical conditions, particularly if not will controlled, including:

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• People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma;

• People who have serious heart conditions;

• People who are immune compromised;

• People with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher);

• People with diabetes;

• People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis; and

• People with liver disease

 

We ask that everybody take their temperatures at home before coming to worship. If you have a fever of any kind, please stay home. If you are suffering from a cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, unexplainable muscle pain, sore throat, or a new loss of taste or smell, please stay home.

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Entering/Exiting

The building at 3660 Kenny Road will be opened at the main entrance only.  The congregation is asked to enter and exit by those doors only.  All doors that will be used will be propped open.  The flow of traffic allows us to maintain only one entrance/exit.  Of course, in case of an emergency, all exits are permissible to use.

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Upon entering, if you have a coat, you are asked to keep it with you in the pews, as the coat rack will not be available for use.

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Masks are mandatory for everyone.  If you do not have one, AdventELC will supply one for you upon entry.  Cloth masks are preferable.  You are asked to wear it the entire time you are in the building, with the exception of partaking in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.  Refusal will result in a request to leave.  This is an issue of fulfilling our Lord Jesus’ command to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-40).

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Pastor Aaron, Jean, and the Assistant Minister will not wear masks while in the chancel area or pulpit, but will at any time they enter the nave or narthex.

 

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Seating

The Staff at AdventELC has physically and virtually mapped out a seating chart so as to maintain social distancing that will be arranged by individual, couple, and family groups. In short, a family of five may sit next to each other in the same pew as a unit and still maintain a mandated diameter of 6 feet from the next group or individual.

 

Utilizing a color coded system and with the help of trained ushers, seating should be simple and streamlined. Chances are you will not be sitting in "your regular seat." Sorry about that.

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At the end of the worship service, you will be dismissed by rows by the Assistant Minister (think of what some do at weddings).  Please do not rise to leave until instructed. 

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Bulletins

Bulletins will not be printed for congregational use.  A link is provided weekly on our website (AdventELC.org) which members can (1) print them off at home, bring them, and take them home with them, or (2) pull them up on a mobile device to use on site.  We do have WiFi at in the building.

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The elements of the service, including hymns, will be projected on the wall behind the altar for the congregation to easily follow along.

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Holy Communion

Holy Communion will be offered at each of our in-person worship services unless we run out of supplies or regard for safety has been lowered to an unacceptable level by the Pastor.  

Congregants will pick up the elements for Holy Communion from the Narthex on their way in to worship.  The elements consist of a wafer and pre-filled grape juice in a plastic container that is individually sealed from the manufacturer.

 

You will not leave your pews to take Holy Communion.  The Pastor will consecrate the elements using the Words of Institution from our liturgy and as an entire congregation will take communion together, as instructed by the Pastor. 

 

If you or someone in your family does not take Holy Communion and would like to receive a blessing, we invite a family/same household member to trace the sign of the cross on that person’s forehead with a blessing (i.e. May the Lord bless you and keep you and know that God loves you very much.)

 

It is important to note that if you are in need of a gluten free option, those can be obtained upon entry.  Please see an usher for more details.

 

After the worship service concludes, as you make your way out of the building, please take the empty cup and plastic from the Communion vessels with you, which we then ask you to throw away using the trash can provided in the Narthex.

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Singing

According to experts singing and the playing of a wind instrument initiates a spread of aerosol and droplets and poses a strong risk of infection.

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On May 5th, an expert panel assembled by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Chorus America, the Barbershop Harmony Society, and the Performing Arts Medical Association (PAMA) stated that singing is among the riskier behaviors when it comes to spreading droplets/aerosols which can carry the virus a significant distance and remain suspended in the air. A cloth mask is unlikely to be enough to protect you or your neighbor. In short, "No Vaccine, No Safe Public Singing."  See their webinar here.  Additional resources mentioned in the webinar: Future of Singing PDF, COVID 19 & SINGING - Research Articles & Guidelines List

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With all this in mind, when we begin in-person worship again our singing will be limited to the the leaders only.  We encourage you to explore other ways to participate: for instance, clapping (clap on beats 2 and 4), or moving in rhythm.

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Offering

Many of you have been consistent and generous givers to the mission and ministry at AdventELC.  We especially thank you for your giving in this unprecedented time.  We encourage you to continue to give online as it is the safest way to give.  If you would like to offer checks, an offering plate will be provided in the Narthex.  Please no cash offerings at this time, for the health of our counters.  The offering plate will not be passed around the congregation.

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Contact

• Materials from the worship and gathering spaces such as bibles, hymnals, pens/pencils, information cards, children’s bags, etc. have been removed.  Please refrain from handshakes, hugs, kisses, elbow or fist bumps, etc. during this time.  

• The Children’s Sermon will be done without the children coming forward.

• The water fountains will not be permitted for use and coffee service has been suspended.

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Restrooms

It is our hope that you will use the restroom on a limited basis only.  Respiratory droplets are not the only way to transmit coronavirus. 

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After each and every use, the restroom will need to be sanitized for the health and safety of all.  In order to reduce exposure, need for personnel, and cleaning materials, we ask that you only use it when absolutely necessary.  If you use it, you are asked to sanitize the fixtures using the materials that are provided in that particular restroom.

 

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Sunday School and Nursery

There will be no in-person offerings of Sunday School or nursery until further notice.

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