We are excited to announce that we are going to start offering in person worship services this coming Sunday, July 19th.  We understand that not everyone is going to be able to participate in person and so we will continue to livestream our services as well.  To make it even easier to spread out in person, we are now offering two worship services.  One at 9:30am, one at 11:30am.  Our livestream will also be shown at the same times.

We feel that we are ready to take this step to start meeting in person, because the Lord has provided an outdoor meeting space for us only one block away from our church building.  Again, we understand that not everyone is in a situation where they feel it will be safe to regather in person and we support the decision that each individual feels led to make.  But for those who are ready, we think that gathering in an outdoor space will be a safer way to transition back to being in person.  Our new gathering space will be at the day camp underneath the 95 overpass at Front and Mifflin, generously provided by the Edward O’Malley Athletic Association. Get this, we offered to pay, but they said that they were happy to let us use it for free and said “you do so much for our neighborhood, it’s the least we can do.”  Isn’t that awesome?!  God continues to show us tremendous favor in our community.  Here’s a fun video that the Catoes made to give you a little feel for what the space looks like.

In this gathering we are taking the following precautions, based upon CDC guidelines and recommendations from the city of Philadelphia.

  1. We are requiring everyone to wear a mask pre service and post service as we mingle with one another.
  2. We are requiring each household sit with a minimum of 8 feet of distance of one another.  There is plenty of space to spread out, so feel free to sit even further apart.
  3. Since we will be distanced by a minimum of 8 feet, we are not requiring masks to be worn during the service, except when we are singing.  When we are singing we will ask masks to be put back on.
  4. We are offering two services in order to keep the crowd size smaller.  The first service will be at 9:30am.  The second service will be at 11:30am.  Both services will be identical (although the sermon at the second service will probably be better, because I’ll already have run through it once, haha).  Total worship service length will be around 60 minutes.
  5. Communion will take place in prefilled, self contained cups.  We will have multiple stations setup to allow for lines to move quickly while maintaining social distance of 6 feet.

Here are some FAQ’s that you might find helpful as well:

What about the weather?

This space has great light, but is also completely shaded with a really nice cross breeze.  8 guys were working hard for several hours to get everything setup in our practice run and not one of us broke a sweat.  It feels about 10-15 degrees cooler than the temperature under the sun.  Also, since it is covered, we will be meeting rain or shine.

Is there parking?

Yes!  There is a large parking lot on the other side of Mifflin that is available for public use.

\What should I bring?  Think of this as like going to the park.  The only things there will be what you bring.  So please bring chairs to sit on, blanket if you want to spread out, and whatever food or drink you want.  

Are there bathrooms?

We will not have bathrooms onsite. Again, think of this as being at a park.  When you plan on going to a park for an hour or so, you usually try to relieve yourself beforehand.  We recommend the same for our church service.  However, our church is only a block and a half away and we’d be happy to let you use our restrooms there.

Will there be children’s ministry?
For now, we will continue to keep our children ministry online on Saturdays at 10am.  However, we hope the space gives you plenty of opportunity to keep your child occupied during the service and that the 60 minute service length will help as well.