DRC Coronavirus Updates

July 14, 2020

The State of California Department of Public Health has issued new Guidance that discontinues indoor religious worship gatherings. In a spirit of cooperation, we are holding an outdoor gathering on Sunday, July 19, at 9 AM only. Seating is limited, so please email Pastor Tony Shen if you would like to attend.

In addition, we are streaming a pre-recorded worship service resource at 9 AM and 11 AM, as we did from March 15 to June 7. Go to www.delreychurch.com and click Sunday Livestream.

WANT TO ATTEND CHURCH IN PERSON? Click here.

June 27, 2020

Our first regatherings have gone well. We will continue the following until further notice from the State of California and the elders of Del Rey Church:

In-person seating is available by signing up in advance "I'm interested in attending church in person!"
You only need to fill out the form once unless your requests change from week to week.
If requests exceed available seating at any service, we will follow the DRC COVID Seating System.
To prepare for attending in person, please follow the DRC COVID Regathering Checklist. Watch this 2-minute video for what to expect when you arrive.
Here is the full list of Del Rey Church's Precautions We Are Taking.
To get the sermon outline and other church info in advance, visit our Online Church Bulletin.
To receive this information by email in advance, please email connect@delreychurch.com and ask to be added to the email list.
Kids Church is discontinued until further notice. In its place, we have prepared lessons to teach your kids at home. All children including nursing infants are welcome to attend "big church" and sit with parents.
Fresh Groceries Ministry continues at the home of Ron and Carrie Cole in Hawthorne. Email help@delreychurch.com for the address.
All of our past sermons are found on our website, on our app, and on our podcast. Search for "Del Rey Church" in your app store or podcast app.

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June 7-10, 2020

As Pastor Matt announced on Sunday, we are planning to re-gather according to the following steps.

6/14/2020 (Sunday): "Rehearsal." Worship services at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM. Number of congregants limited to 20 per service, with an additional 6-12 pastors, church staff, ushers, music team, sound and video team, et al. We will choose these 20 people per service with a reservation system, using the "Sign Up in Advance with a Possible Lottery" system. For this rehearsal Sunday, official church members will receive an email with the link to sign up.

6/21/2020 (Sunday): Re-gathering according to CDPH (California Department of Public Health) limitations. Worship services at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM. The main limitation is that the number of people allowed in the main auditorium is 25% of capacity. The official capacity of the room is 304. 25% of that is 76. With preacher, sound and video team, music team, we are limiting the number of attendees to approximately 70, using the "Sign Up in Advance with a Possible Lottery" system. The regular emailing list will receive instructions on how to sign up on Monday, June 15. You can click to sign up here.

We are asking congregants to wear masks, stay socially distant, and take other precautions, according to the COVID Regathering Checklist.

Please also click to read the Del Rey Church's Precautions We Are Taking.

Kids Church is discontinued until further notice. Kids are allowed to sit in "big church" with parents. Please parent your kids so that they follow the guidelines. Infants are allowed, too.

Fresh Grocery Ministry continues at the home of Ron and Carrie Cole, not at the church campus. We lift the Coles up in prayer for their love, labor, ministry, and persistence.

To stay up to date on news on Sunday gatherings, check this page or email Pastor Tony at tony@delreychurch.com and ask to be added to the "Los Angeles Email List." If you have been receiving the weekly emails on Friday-Saturday with the sermon outline, you are already on the list.

The livestream will be active. It will be a "live" broadcast in real time, and not a pre-recorded video resource recorded earlier in the week and broadcast on Sunday. So the sound and video quality will be less than we have experienced in the pre-recordings, due to both the recording equipment and the internet capacity in our building. We ask that you bear patiently with us.

We elders are praying for all of you during this time. May the grace and peace of God the Father and Christ the Son fill your hearts always.

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May 22, 2020

Dear brothers and sisters of Del Rey Church,

We—the elders of DRC—are writing this update to keep our family informed of our prayers and planning for the congregation while we make preparations to resume in-person gatherings in the future. As well, we want to share our rationale and heart, as we seek to shepherd the flock in a way that honors our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We trust that God is granting us wisdom, patience, and proper mindfulness as is befitting of those in the graces of God. Through much prayer and discussion, we invite you to please read this update from us.

Additionally, we are seeking input from members of Del Rey Church to help us in our planning to meet again. Please take ten minutes to fill out a brief survey. The survey will aid us in making decisions that are considerate of your opinions as we move towards gathering in person again. Please click here to access the survey.

We are aware that earlier today President Trump issued a statement calling on states to permit places of worship to resume their gatherings. We are patiently and prayerfully monitoring the situation.

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March 21, 2020

Dear brothers and sisters of Del Rey Church,

As a follow up to the pastor's update on March 16, please note that we will not be gathering in person this Sunday for our worship service. We recorded our last live worship service on Friday, which included the baptism of one of our members, and it will be streamed on Sunday, March 22 at 9 and 11. To watch please visit our home page at https://www.delreychurch.com/. If you are using a desktop click "Watch Church Live," which is just below the main banner. If you are viewing the mobile version of our site, click "Sunday Services Live," which is on the main banner. You can also use our app to live stream on your phone.

To give online visit https://www.delreychurch.com/online-giving. Alternatively, you can give by mailing a check to the church office.

There will be additional updates next week about what our Sunday mornings will look like moving forward. We are living in a unique and uncertain period of time. Things are changing rapidly. Please know that the pastors and other staff members of Del Rey Church are working prayerfully and diligently to stay on top of things and keep you all updated and informed. As we navigate these changes together continue to do what the church is called to do:

Pray for one another and the pastors.
Think about how you can care for those who are struggling (physically, spiritually, and mentally)
Reach out to your lost friends who are grappling with the reality of physical death
Stay in fellowship with one another.

In His common grace, God has gifted us with amazing technology that can keep us connected even when we can't be physically near one another. Let's use it to love one another and love the world, as we long for and anticipate when we can again gather together in person for regular corporate worship.

Brian Criscuolo, Missional Director

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March 16, 2020

Brothers and Sisters of Del Rey Church.

On Monday, March 16, the President addressed the country calling for no groups larger than 10 people to gather together in an effort to continue to stem the spread of the Coronavirus and limit the strain on our health care system. In light of this, we have thought it prudent to make adjustments to the various ministries of Del Rey Church.

Effective immediately our Sunday gatherings will move to an online format. We will not be gathering in person. (Details about how our live stream service will proceed will be forthcoming.)

In addition, we will cease gathering in person for other ministries such as

DRBI
AWANA
Youth Group
Men’s group
Community Groups (unless they are under 10 people)
Possibly the upcoming women’s ministry and women’s summit

If it’s feasible, these ministries may use another format to continue meeting. The ministry leaders of these programs will contact you with further updates about what that might look like. Community groups over 10 people are encouraged to meet virtually via skype, zoom, etc.

While we hold fast to the biblical admonition to regularly gather corporately to hear God’s Word’s preached, and would never cease these gatherings just because the government tried to force us to do so, it is also biblically appropriate to submit to the governing authorities call to cease these gatherings for a period of time.

The state is given authority over protecting its citizens, enforcing just laws for the restraining of evil and for the rewarding of those who do good, managing its borders, military defense, and levying and collecting taxes. (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13-17). Public health decisions are rightly under the authority of the state in its duty to protect its citizens. We do not believe this is a tyrannical executive order targeting churches. This order is given for all groups of people over 10, and the churches are not being singled out.

Therefore, in an effort to obey the command to submit to the governing authorities as well as the command to love our neighbors whom we do not want to see infected with this virus, we have decided to cease gathering in person on Sundays or for other ministries for a period of time.

With that said, we are still the church and are still gathering together, just in a different way. The distance between us ought not to prevent us from sacrificing and providing for the needs of one another. God has given us the gift of technology so let’s use it to bless one another.

Take advantage of the giving feature on the church app and joyfully give of your finances in weekly worship
Pray and be in fellowship regularly, just do it virtually
If you are aware of people with needs, especially our seniors, please let us know or think of ways you can personally bless them from a distance. A delivery of groceries is always a good way to help someone out
If you know someone or are yourself suffering from depression or anxiety because of what is happening, please reach out and talk to someone

Overall, let us continue to love one another and be lights to the world as we reach out and preach the gospel to a confused, scared, and lost world.

DRC Pastors

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For further information, please read the below Christian links:

Coronavirus: A Biblical & Practical Perspective

https://answersingenesis.org/human-body/coronavirus-biblical-practical/

Spurgeon and the Cholera Outbreak of 1854

https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/1/3703

The FAQs: Coronavirus Explained by an Infectious Disease Expert and Pastor

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-we-know-coronavirus/

Taking Church Online in a Coronavirus Age

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/church-online-coronavirus-age/