New Here?COVID-19 Letter
Sean Roberds | Mar 11, 2020
Hello Church Family, March 11, 2020
There are many concerns in our region and nation about the Coronavirus known as COVID-19. I am sure you have been watching the news and social media and know this is something we all need to be thinking and praying about and taking precautions to avoid. We don’t want to overreact, but day by day things keep changing in our area and it is best to be prepared.
If we take necessary and measured precautions, we should be fine as a church. For now, some people will need to stay at home for their own safety and the safety of others. By following good hygiene practices, most of us should be fine to attend worship and other church activities. This past Sunday, I asked everyone to limit shaking and holding hands and I am thankful for the way the church listened and responded.
At our deacons meeting Sunday, we discussed additional plans to help us to be proactive in limiting the spread of the virus during our time together. Below is a list of precautions we ask you to take:
- Stay home if you are sick or think you might be sick; have had a fever in the last 48 hours, or have a compromised immune system. We will live stream the worship service on Facebook so you can worship with us from home.
- Refrain from shaking and holding hands any time at church.
- Practice good hygiene habits as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Wash your hands with soap and water before coming to church. Cough/sneeze into your elbow.
Here is what we are doing at church:
- Performing extra cleaning of highly touched surfaces before and after worship.
- Setting up hand sanitizing stations outside the sanctuary (assuming we can secure enough hand sanitizer).
- Changing communion procedures. During the outbreak, we will eliminate unintentional contamination of the communion elements by asking people to come forward and receive a piece of bread and a cup from a deacon who is wearing gloves. As always, the deacons will wear gloves and prepare the elements with the utmost care and attention to hygiene.
We care about you and want to support you in every way we can, so if you are sick or cannot attend worship, we would like to know. You can email me at ssrob72@yahoo.com or call me at church 703-437-3620 or reach me on my cell 703-462-4391. We will live stream the services on Facebook. You can follow our page Here.
Let’s watch out for each other. If you notice people who cannot attend church, reach out to them, pray for them and find out if they need anything. Let us know what you find out. When we know about needs, we can work together to meet them. This kind of caring and compassion is an area where our church excels!
Finally, let’s remember our church finances in times like this. I do not plan to cancel church unless we are asked to by state or federal agencies. Still, I anticipate attendance being a little down. If you cannot attend church, please consider mailing in your tithe or giving online. To give online you can visit our webpage or follow this link https://abundant.co/fbcherndon/give.
Below are some other important links to follow.
Fairfax County Health Department
CDC Resources for Community and Faith Based Leaders
In all of this let us remember that God is with us!
“God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1.
In Christ,
Sean Roberds
Pastor, First Baptist Church
