In Person Worship Guidelines (Updated October 1, 2020)

Churches have been and continue to be “super-spreader” events in this pandemic, and St. John’s is making every effort to prevent such an occurrence . Minimizing these risks will only be possible if everyone complies with our expectations, including wearing masks and social distancing. If we do not all do what is necessary, we will need to suspend in-worship again for the foreseeable future. Even with our best efforts, we cannot make church “safe” at this point. We are striving to make worship no more risky than some other activities that have resumed in our area. However, any indoor activities with groups of people have higher risks of contagion. ANYONE WITH UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS OR OVER 65 YEARS OF AGE IS ENCOURAGED TO REMAIN AT HOME. St. John’s and other churches will continue to offer on-line worship. No one is expected to be in church at this point. Anyone who is not one-hundred percent comfortable with being in a public setting at this time is encouraged to remain at home. Also, anyone who is unable or unwilling to wear a mask throughout their time at St. John’s, has had a known exposure to COVID, or is awaiting COVID test results should remain at home. If anyone who attends St. John’s tests positive for COVID, we will close our facilities for at least 14 days.

General Information

In order to comply with Diocesan Guidelines and public health recommendations, St. John’s in-person worship will be different when we resume on July 12. Masks and social distancing will be required, services will be shorter, and there will be no singing, coffee hour, or physical touching. Communion will be distributed at the end of the service in a drive-through fashion, and the services will follow the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer but will differ from what we have usually offered.

Worship Services:
All our services will last between 30-45 minutes, include instrumental music, spoken prayers, and a sermon, and end with communion distributed after people return to their cars. Except for the differences below, each service will be similar.

  • 8:00am will be in our sanctuary (which is not air-conditioned). The communion service will follow Rite I (traditional, Elizabethan language).
  • 10:00am will be in air-conditioned Allen Hall. The communion service will follow Rite II (contemporary English).

Public Health Directions:
Masks must be worn by anyone entering the building or in our sanctuary or in Allen Hall and throughout the entire worship service. Masks will be available for anyone attending services that needs one.

  • Social Distancing will be maintained. Seating is spaced at a distance of at least six feet. Only those from the same household will be seated together.
  • No food or drink will be available. There will be no coffee hour, and the lounge and kitchens will not be accessible at this time.
  • Temperature Screening will occur before entering the service. Those with temperatures will be asked to leave and to obtain appropriate medical attention.
  • Contact Screening Information is needed in case someone attending church tests positive for COVID-19. We will be maintain lists of attendees from our RSVP lists.