Covid Update for May 21, 2021
Hi KingsWay,
Who’s excited for our chicken BBQ on Sunday, May 30? I can hardly wait to enjoy an unhurried meal as a church family on the back lawn! Thanks for your patience as we carefully reintroduce treasured aspects of our corporate life on the heels of the pandemic.
On the whole, you have made it easy for our eldership to navigate the challenges of the last year. The Lord has helped us love unselfishly, maintain our unity, honor our leaders, and prioritize the public gathering of the saints. All of those values are biblical. They also create plenty of healthy tensions in a congregation our size with a spectrum of personal convictions on what is necessary or wise. Ultimately, that kind of diversity is a spiritual strength. I thank God for your faithfulness to consider the interests of others more important than your own. Keep it up!
Last weekend, I mentioned an upcoming revision in Covid-19 guidelines for our public gatherings in keeping with changing requirements and recommendations from state and local health authorities. We are thrilled to be heading in a positive direction. Singing wholeheartedly and communicating through facial expressions is difficult with a mask! We’re also in a season of transition where health risks are declining though not completely gone. Here’s the plan.
Instead of requiring masks for everyone ages 5 and older, we strongly encourage anyone who has not been vaccinated to wear a mask in keeping with CDC guidance. Starting Sunday, May 23, the only group we will require to wear a mask are children ages 5-11 participating in King’sKids (unless an underlying medical condition makes it unwise). Health screening forms and temperature checks will be discontinued. Limited volunteers are the only reason children’s ministry remains bi-weekly for now. As soon as the Lord provides a few more teachers and assistants, we are eager to return to an every-week schedule. Current volunteers are strongly encouraged to wear a mask while serving if they have not been vaccinated no less than the rest of the church.
Enabling as many children as possible to participate in King’sKids, including families carefully adhering to CDC guidance, is a practical means of loving our neighbors and protecting our unity as a body. Paul’s exhortation in 1 Cor 8:8-9 is instructive. Allow me the liberty of replacing the word food with wearing a mask. “[Wearing a mask] will not commend us to God. We are not worse off if we do not [wear a mask] and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.”
If exercising a personal liberty in a matter of conscience makes encountering Jesus harder for someone, we should be the first people to lay down our rights. For we follow a Savior who laid down his right to life itself for our sake! We must avoid a situation where those who choose to continue wearing a mask are perceived as not trusting God. We must also refrain from suspiciously wondering if someone who is not wearing a mask has not been vaccinated. A number of individuals who have been vaccinated may decide to wear a mask for medical reasons or to support their children in doing the same.
For the time being, we will continue our socially distanced seating arrangement in the auditorium. It does not pose a significant obstacle to our practice of biblical fellowship and makes it easier for individuals with continued health concerns to worship with us. We are very much in a season of transition and will continue to evaluate the precautions we’re taking over the summer. Bottom line, we’re progressing in the right direction and that’s well worth celebrating.
Let me close with a word of encouragement to parents of children in King’sKids. I am well aware our plan for the next few months puts you in a tricky spot! The Lord will help you. Take time to envision and empathize with your kids for challenges like wearing a mask in the classroom. Tell them you know it’s hard. Teach them the importance of honoring others in matters of conscience. Resist the temptation to grumble. Point them to the gospel and what it means to follow Jesus in sacrificial love. God is giving us an opportunity to sow seeds of biblical conviction in their heart that can serve them for a lifetime.
As always, don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions or concerns. It is a joy to serve as one of your shepherds, though I don’t think I ever took a class in seminary on pandemic leadership!
Grace and peace,
Matthew