Church Visitors, Coronavirus, and Community
March 13, 2020
Dear Church Visitor,
In case you’re online looking for churches this March of 2020, we hope you find this note about the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.
This week, California Gov. Gavin Newson issued Executive Order N-25-20 regarding the coronavirus and called for the cancellation of gatherings of 250 or more people through the end of the month. Since our Sunday services are below that, this upcoming Sunday we will be meeting, but in the upcoming weeks—depending on updates from governing authorities—we may not, so make sure you call us beforehand if you plan to visit.
If you do come this Sunday (and we hope you do—we love visitors!), things will be a little different than usual. For example, we won’t be taking communion together out of the same bowls of bread. We are also considering closing down our kids’ programs, since little ones aren’t the best with social distancing and hygiene. This would also thin out attendance in our two services (btw, they're at 9am and 11am), which gives worshippers more space for social distancing to minimize germs spreading.
Speaking of social distancing, if you were planning to visit this Sunday but you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 or have been in a place known for infection, we are asking you to visit us next month and stay quarantined from the church physically until you are medically cleared. Added to this, if you are: immunocompromised, have had fever within 24 hours (without fever reducing aids), or have any cold/flu symptoms, we need you to stay at home from church gatherings and instead worship with us online via the livestream. By the way, we livestream our worship services at http://www.delreychurchmedia.com/live/ and we have a free app on Apple/Droid platforms that you can get on your smartphones.
We are thankful for technology. If it comes to it and we have to temporarily cease our Sunday services, we won’t stop having or rather being the church and worshipping, but we will change the way we do it. Specifically, we will livestream our services to you online and encourage families and small groups to gather to watch and worship. Before all the church had technology, she managed to weather storms of viruses and public health. For example, many churches did so during the Spanish flu of 1918. The historic Reformer, John Calvin, had to cancel public worship services at his own church in Geneva during the plague that came through in 1544-1545. There are more examples, but the point is the church is committed to serving the public good and following our governing authorities as they address the spread of COVID-19. Let’s us pray for them as they lead and of course pray for those who are infected and those who have lost loved ones.
In sum, dear visitor, we are glad you found us online. We are here to minister to you. Please do not hesitate to connect with us via email (connect@delreychurch.com) or by telephone (310-823-4275). Blessings to you!
Your neighborhood church,
The Del Rey Church Family
