Loving our neighbors as ourselves

Loving our neighbor is the most basic building block of the Christian life. And, in this time of the COVID19 pandemic we are being asked to love our neighbors by making St Mark’s as safe a place as possible. You might not be personally worried about the Coronavirus, but there will be people here who are, and there are people among us with underlying health concerns. There will also be people who won’t feel like they can attend St Mark’s if we are being cavalier. So please, love your neighbor.

Online Services

If you are uncomfortable, uncertain, or unsure about attending in-person services, please feel free to stay home. We will miss you, but no one will be disappointed in your decision. In fact, it will be just the opposite. We support your decision to stay home and stay safe. We will be putting great effort into making the online services, classes, meetings available to anyone who wants to dial then up on YouTube, Facebook, or Zoom.

Contact Tracing

We will be keeping a record of who attends each service at St Mark’s, and if we don’t already have your contact information we will want to collect that from you. If someone who attends that service is later diagnosed with COVID19 or is exposed to it, everyone who attended will be notified. If YOU have a diagnosis or an exposure to COVID19, please call the church office immediately.

Reserving Your Pew

Because of our contract tracing protocols, and because our attendance at services are limited, we are asking everyone to reserve their spot for each service you plan on attending. 

Masks

Please wear masks at all times while on the St Mark’s campus. Obviously, you may take it off when taking Communion, but then please put it right back on.

Antibacterial

Wipes and Gels

There will be hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes available for your use.

Before and

After

Between the services all chairs, pews, light switches, door handles, etc will be cleaned with disinfecting wipes.

The Peace

We will still exchange the peace, but with a nod, a bow, a peace sign, or a blown-kiss—as long as your mask is on!

Communion

As the mechanics of serving the chalice of Wine during this pandemic are problematic, we will only be serving the Bread. The Bread will not have been touched before the server hands it to you—and only after they have sanitized their hands. The server will be wearing an N95 mask during the distribution of Communion.

Spiritual

Communion

If you are unsure about receiving Communion for any reason, the prayer for Spiritual Communion is still available in the bulletin.

Symptoms

If you are experiencing ANY symptoms—even if you’re just sure it’s only “allergies”—please refrain from attending.

For servers and readers

For the time being, only one person (usually Rick) will be serving Communion. Readers are to remain masked for the duration of the service, except when reading. The reader should be positioned at least 20 feet from the nearest person in front of them in order to read without a mask on. (The arches in the church are 15 feet apart.) Readers should refrain from touching the microphone as much as possible.