Stevens Road United Baptist Church Family;
Happy New Year! I trust that you had an opportunity to spend some time with friends and family over the Christmas and New Year season. I know our household adjusted our normal plans for both Christmas and New Years but we were able to find ways to gather and celebrate.
Adjusting our plans seems to be the name of the game right now, and our plans for Sunday worship are no exception. The current regulations are set to set to expire on January 12th, but at the press conference on January 3rd we were told to expect those to be extended.
The current regulations allow for faith gatherings under the following rules;
25% of capacity to a maximum of 50 people. For us that means we can have about 25-35 people in our sanctuary.
Masks must be worn at all times, except to take communion or conduct service
Physical distancing of 2m must be maintained
Only one designated vocalist is allowed to sing
Most other gatherings, youth group, WMS, bible study etc have to follow these regulations;
No more than 10 people
Masks worn at all times
Proof of vaccination is needed
Physical distancing of 2m is required
In consultation with representatives from Staff, Deacons, Trustees, Finance, Christian Ed and the Moderator given the current regulations, the high case counts, and the impracticality of running in person SRKids church we have decided to only have Online and FM Church for the reminder of January. We are hoping regular in person Sunday services will start again in February.
We have also decided that small gatherings like WMS, Bible Study and committee meetings can still meet in person at the church if they would like too so long as they adhere to all guidelines. CE and the youth leader team are still deciding what is the best plan for youth group for the next few weeks. The first youth night back was planned to be January 16th we will have a final decision prior to that.
While we are on this pause for in person services allow me to remind you of the following;
1- Each week we are having a digital church service that includes, prayer, announcements, bible reading and preaching. You can catch the service at this link https://www.facebook.com/stevensroadbaptist/posts You do not need a Facebook account to watch it live on Sunday
2- The same digital church service is available on YouTube on demand at 10:10am. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2JHFcCjsMQQoCeGALWg6Jw/playlists?view_as=subscriberNo account is needed to watch this video.
3- The Sunday sermon will be uploaded to our podcast by Monday afternoon https://stevensroadbaptist.podbean.com/ no account needed to listen. You can also find this podcast using your favourite podcast app
4- On Sunday Morning at 10:15am you can come to the church parking lot and listen to our digital service via FM radio signal 88.5 FM. This service is the same service that will be broadcast on Facebook and YouTube.
5- Each week between Friday night and Saturday night a digital bulletin is sent out to everyone on our mailing list. This e-mail has up to date announcements, and various links to click so you can listen to music, watch or listen to our Sunday service.
6- We are encouraging staying in contact with one another through phone calls, text messaging, e-mails, and even old fashion letters. We are also organizing a group of people who will call everyone in our directory to check in and see if they have any prayer requests or needs to be met.
7- SRKids Church has a weekly YouTube Show that can be accessed from our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2JHFcCjsMQQoCeGALWg6Jw/playlists?view_as=subscriber No account needed
8- And lastly, we understand that money may be a personal issue for you and your household in this time but we ask that you please consider giving on your normal schedule if possible. We accept e-transfers (etransfer@stevensroadbaptist.ca), we can set up automatic withdrawals, checks can be mailed, picked up or dropped off through the church’s mail slot handy the office door. We also want to say thank you for being faithful in your giving so far, it has been a blessing.
Pastor Christopher
On behalf of Staff, Deacons, Trustees, Christian Education, and Finance
