As you may have heard already, we plan to resume congregational singing in the 10:30 service this Sunday, June 7.
We are very thankful that our state and even county seem to have been spared the much higher infection rates of many other areas, and we feel it's best to allow one of the most important parts of worship to begin again.
Congregational singing always involves a certain amount of risk, and COVID-19 may have made it riskier than it’s ever been. Here are some of our precautions and recommendations.
We will be encouraging cloth face coverings during singing times especially.
We do not plan to sing nearly as long as we otherwise might.
Though it breaks our hearts, we do not plan to resume the full choir's ministry yet. We are making plans to add more vocal music as soon as safely possible.
We will have the singing after the morning sermon, and we plan to allow anyone who wishes to do so to exit privately just beforehand.
We also want to encourage anyone uncomfortable with attending the 10:30 auditorium service to consider joining the 9:15 session in the chapel that will also start on June 7.
Chapel
Stained glass windows in the Morningside Baptist Church chapel, west side. The chapel was completed in May 1988 and served as Morningside’s main auditorium for over a decade. In addition to its function as venue for weddings, funerals, and other special events, the chapel is also home to Morningside’s Spanish-language ministry, Iglesia Bautista Nuevo Amanecer.
The two classes meeting in the chapel will have plenty of room for many extra attendees. And their environment will have a much lower risk than the auditorium service. We plan to include some elements like special music that will help attendees appreciate the events as church services, even while giving the teachers room to build fellowship and discipleship among their combined classes.
Singing and COVID-19
The science of COVID-19 transmission is not quite exact, but authoritative witness to the risk of transmission during singing is very easy to find. That leads us to treat the act of communal singing as a wisdom issue, not only with precautions but also with deference. In the spirit of Romans 15:1, we who believe that singing may resume want to bear with anyone whose conscience doesn't allow participation.
Sunday morning worship Opportunities as of june 7
Last Sunday, our auditorium filled to just over 30% capacity. A few days before our first in-person service, restaurants began operating at 50% capacity. We actually have five options for different levels of risk tolerance:
High: Come to 10:30 service and stay for singing
Medium High: Come to the 10:30 auditorium and exit (to overflow or offsite) before singing begins
Medium: Come to a 10:30 overflow room
Medium Low: Come to the 9:15 session only
Low: Watch online
As far as we know, our first three Sundays of in-person services have not resulted in any COVID-19 cases. We pray that our church family, especially anyone at high risk, will continue in safety from this sometimes deadly virus.
We also pray that each week, more and more of our church family will feel the liberty to enjoy corporate gathering—and that Levels 2-4 can help those for whom Level 1 seems very daunting.
We hope you can join us this Sunday.
Sunday morning worship service options at Morningside as of June 7, 2020, sorted from highest to lowest by level of risk.