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In-person Worship Services at Cloverdale United Church resume 15 August 2021

We are turning a major page in our life after the past year-and-a-half of living through this global pandemic. Though we briefly had a return to in-person worship last fall, for many of us it has been a very long time since we were last able to be together. Therefore, we are very excited to share that starting on Sunday, August 15th, we will be resuming in-person worship services inside the church, moving to a much-anticipated “hybrid” worship format for both in-person and online participants.

What will worship look like?

Starting on the 15th, we will return to the sort of full worship service much like what we would have had before the pandemic. We will have congregational singing and we will be holding coffee hour following the service. Pre-registration will not be required in order to attend in-person.

While most of the provincial pandemic restrictions have been lifted for worship services, please note that we continue to encourage a variety of practices to reduce COVID transmission risks. Namely:

  • Masks, while optional, are nevertheless welcome and encouraged.
  • Households are encouraged to maintain some distance with others while in the pews.
  • A no-contact exchanging of the peace will be observed.
  • The offering plates will not be passed during the service, but will be placed at entrances to the sanctuary.
  • Furthermore, we will fast from the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, for the rest of August and for September as we become more comfortable with being together again, continue to watch infection rates, and discern how we will want to approach the serving of Communion when we do celebrate it next (most likely on October 3rd, World Communion Sunday).

Over the next few weeks, we'll also be experimenting with how we make use of the new display screens in the sanctuary, especially discerning the balance between using them for the display of liturgical material versus using them to make our online worshippers present to those of us gathered in the sanctuary. In any event, regardless of how much liturgical material we display on the screens, our newly-reformatted bulletins and the pew hymnals and songbooks will always provide all of the materials someone needs in order to follow along and fully participate in the service.

Participating Online

If you are unable or uncomfortable coming to worship in person, you will be able to continue participating through Zoom. You will be able to see and hear the service, and you will be able to be seen (if you choose to turn on your video) by those with whom you are worshiping , both those online and those present in person. If you are an online worshipper and also have a worship leadership role (such as being as a reader), you will also be able to be heard by everyone in the service as you lead the reading or element of the service for which you are responsible.

To participate in worship via Zoom, you will simply continue to connect using the same Zoom credentials as we have been using throughout the pandemic, which are included below for your convenience. If you have been calling into Zoom on your phone, you will be able to continue participating in that way as well.

Zoom Link for Worship
Meeting ID: 984 637 594 Passcode: 574 5813     Call-in Number: 778-907-2071

Coffee Hour

Those who are participating in worship in person are invited to join in a time of conversation and refreshments in the Lower Hall following the service.

Sunday Morning Volunteer Roles

As we resume in-person worship gatherings, our need for the various volunteer roles we typically have on a Sunday morning also resumes. You'll be hearing more soon from members of our Worship Committee about scheduling ushers, readers, coffee hour hosts, and more... please consider how you might help out!