When: Sundays at 9am, 11am, or online
Location: GBC Sanctuary
Contact Name: GBC Elders
Email: elders@gracebiblechurch.com
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We are excited to be gathering in-person again! Please be sure to let us know what you plan on doing for our upcoming service on June 7th. We also ask that you read our plan for doing this safely. This can be found below.
Re-Gathering Plan
Give me the summary:
- We will have two identical family services on-campus at 9am and 11am.
- We will follow all of Governor Abbott’s recommended guidelines for cleaning, capacity and social distancing. A deep clean with EPA-certified disinfectants will take place before, between and, in some places, during the services.
- No Pre-K, Kids, Refuge (6th-12th), or adult Sunday school classes or seminars will be meeting on campus until Governor Abbott prompts “Phase III” to begin, which will likely be early June. However, we do plan for these ministries and classes to continue in a largely online format through May.
- To ensure that our services stay below the guideline of being at 25% of our building’s capacity, please complete our simple digital signup to let us know if you will be attending in-person (9am or 11am) or online via our 9am or 11am livestreamed service on our YouTube channel.
- We encourage our GBC family to lead the way in caution by practicing diligent handwashing and good hygiene. Join all of our volunteers in taking your temperature before you come and if you have even a slight fever, stay home and watch online. If you are in a high-risk population, please feel comfortable participating from home. In time, we will all gather again; don’t feel pressured to violate your conscience. Waiting only increases our eventual celebration for when that day does actually come.
What do I need to know if I am attending in-person?
- Please sign up and let us know how many from your home will be joining you.
- We will still be practicing social distancing which means:
- Maintaining 6 feet of distance is important, no matter how much you want to shake someone’s hand or give them a bear hug. Accompany your greeting with a wave instead.
- Please wear a mask as you go through the foyer on the way to your seat. You are free to take it off once you are seated or leave it on during the service if you would like.
- The 9am service will sit in the odd-numbered pews from front to back, and the 11am service will sit in the even-numbered pews from front to back. To limit any confusion, pews that are not to be sat on for your service time will be marked with a red piece of paper.
- Each family unit ought to sit together, at least 6 feet away from others in their pew.
- Other important details to know:
- PARENTS – Pre-K and Kids’ activity packs can be picked up on your way into the sanctuary. Please do not feel embarrassed when your GBC “littles” make noise! Grace Bible was praying for young ones to shepherd before your little one was even born. This is a unique season; please know that anyone who sees you and your little one in the pew is thankful for this marker of a beautiful but slow transition back into worshiping together. The nursing and cry room will be limited to one family at a time.
- We will enter the sanctuary through the propped-open foyer entrances and after the service, we will be dismissed to exit through the stage-front (East) exits.
- Hand sanitizer stations will be place at our entrances and exits.
- We will not pass the offering plates; instead offering and connect cards will be received through the giving boxes located at every door.
- We will not be serving donuts or coffee, so B.Y.O.C. :)
- Printed bulletins will be available, but you will also be able to download a digital bulletin on your phone or device before the service.
- If you use a pen from the pew-back, take it home as a gift. If you use a pew Bible, leave it sitting on your pew so our cleaning team can wipe it down. Though your pew won’t be used again for a week and will receive a midweek cleaning, we want to go above and beyond with our carefulness.
What do I need to know if I am watching the 9am or 11am service via YouTube Live?
- Know that we want to serve you the best way we can in this season. If you don’t attend these first several weeks back, it doesn’t mean you lack faith or live in fear. You are being wise for your household, and some of you may choose to stay home to protect your fellow members. We love and respect you and that decision!
- Though we won’t have the video streaming quality we would like until our audio-visual Special Project is completed, you will still be able to watch live on YouTube or you can watch the service later from our GBC YouTube channel.
General statement for all of GBC to hear and receive:
- Here are two reminders that our mission teams practice for being successful: be positive and be graciously flexible. First, be positive. There may be components of regathering that you disagree with, whether it’s something our congregation or another congregation is or is not doing, but please be positive. There are no easy decisions in this unique season. And second, be graciously flexible for those that may have a different conscience. There are many in our congregation and/or prospective visitors that may not feel comfortable gathering yet, and it could be another month or more until you or they are more comfortable attending. We respect and honor each other’s consciences and are thankful for the ability to livestream the 9am or 11am service and later post it for all to see. Know that we want to serve you the best way we can in this season. We love and respect you and your decisions in this slow transition back to physically gathering together.
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