A New Ministry Season - September 2021
Dear Congregation,
Welcome to a new ministry season… As I write these words, I falter… and hesitate… I honestly wish and have prayed that we could begin this ministry year with no restrictions and/or fear of where COVID is heading. There is still much anxiety, skepticism, disappointment, anger and HOPE… We are planning and preparing with the hopeful expectation that Ministries can begin this fall as normal as possible. We can’t wait and frankly, are excited to renew our connections to one another and our broader community.
Pastor Erick mentioned in his last communication, the fall begins with a number of our members taking a training workshop for Challenging Conversations on September 8th. This training is in preparation for conversations to which you will be invited as we discuss parts of our denominations Human Sexuality Report. Our hope is that the tools from this training will also help us when we have any other uncomfortable talks, that we may need to have as a community. In this time of polarized opinions, it is vital that we as Christ-followers know how to neither avoid challenging topics nor exacerbate the differences.
Now let me share some things that are coming up in our planning:
1. We are excited to host a Healing Prayer Gathering on Wednesday, September 15th at 7 pm. All are welcome as we gather in the worship space to lift up one another’s needs big or small, for physical, emotional or spiritual healing. This will be a participatory gathering. We will begin with a time of teaching, followed by a time of prayer. You will be invited to personally respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and join in small clusters to pray FOR, WITH or OVER one another, specifically for healing.
2. We are solidifying our plans for an outdoor service and encourage you to mark your calendar and join us for a Backyard Worship Celebration on Sunday, September 19th. This service will happen on the lawn behind the church building and will still be available online. Registration is required, but masks outdoors will not be. Please bring your own lawn chairs. Once you are seated and properly physically distanced from your neighbours, you may remove your masks.
3. Many ministries such as Book Club, Cadets, Coffee Break, Divorce Care, Friendship, GEMS, Kids@Mountainview and Mission Circle are excitedly making plans to return this fall. As we re-open ministries we need to continue to abide by the rules that require masks, physical distancing, capacity limits, food service, etc… After some diligent research, we have also set in place some guidelines for volunteers.
4. We recognize that the choice to vaccinate or not to vaccinate is a personal one, which each person is free to make, and we respect their choice. However, sometimes when a personal choice impacts other people, we must consider that impact and make decisions for the good of everyone. We are extremely fortunate to live in a country where we are free to make our own decisions. The thing is, with freedom comes responsibility, especially for each other.
a. With respect to Children’s Ministry, it is our job to take care of our children, to make sure that Kids@Mountainview is a loving, fun, safe environment. We do this with our Safe Church Policy, with training and mentorship of our volunteers and we need to do this with respect to COVID. Because children below the age of 12 cannot get vaccinated and by that, protect themselves from COVID, it is our responsibility to ensure they are as safe as we can possibly make them. So, based on government and medical guidelines, which we have been following, we have set the following guidelines in place.
i. Volunteers for our lower age classes (nursery to JK), where children are in close physical contact and cannot be masked, all volunteers for these age groups must be double vaccinated.
ii. We are beginning with a staggered start, with Walkers, Little Lambs and JK being the first groups to begin. These little ones are busy and are easily distracted and hard to keep still in church. We feel the babies, most of which need to be constantly held, are better served by being held by their parents in the worship space, or if they are particularly fussy, the fireside room where the service is also streaming. Depending on how the numbers play out once school opens, and we hopefully stay in stage 3 (or better), then we will open babies and the older classes possibly beginning November.
b. For other ministries with older age children, GEMS, Cadets, Middle School and Youth, vaccination is strongly recommended but not required at this time. Following the government guidelines all volunteers, both vaccinated and non-vaccinated along with the participants must wear face masks and remain physically distanced.
We will continue to watch for and follow any changes that invariably will happen as our world struggles with the COVID pandemic. Let’s be gracious and flexible as we continue to navigate during this difficult time.
We encourage you to join in this fall, whether as a participant or a volunteer, we’d love to see ministry flourish. Regularly watch the Friday e-blast and our website www.mountainviewcrc.org for information regarding the start of each ministry.
Blessings to you all as we ramp up for a new, albeit somewhat different, ministry season. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
In His Grip,
P.J. Vermeer
Council & Board Chair