2 Timothy 1:7 – God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Dear Brother and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

We are all now well aware of the impact COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is having on our country and the world. Given the guidance put out by government and health officials, the leadership of our church has decided that it is prudent to issue some guidance and take certain common sense measures to protect one-another and honor our Heavenly Father.

Until April 30 we are making the following changes:
No Sunday school
No Children’s Church
No Youth Group meetings on Sunday evenings
No refreshments served. (Bring your own coffee & any refreshments your children may need.)

For the foreseeable future, we will continue coming together for corporate worship on Sunday mornings. However, we will enact certain changes to our traditional liturgy with the aim of limiting physical contact between persons. As a reminder, all sermons are always available on the EHPC website for any who are unable to attend corporate worship.

1. Please, if you are not feeling well, especially if you have a cough and fever, stay at home. As medical professionals have advised, erring on the side of caution is in everyone’s best interest at this time. The virus is very contagious and while a cough is not a certain indicator of the virus, this is a time to think of our neighbors’ welfare by limiting reasons for fretfulness.

2. Limited physical contact during the worship service. As advised by medical professionals, we will make adjustments to our worship liturgy to limit physical contact.

•  Tithes and Offerings:
  We will suspend passing the plate for the offering. As part of our regular corporate worship, we pass a plate through which we give our tithes and offerings to the Lord.
  In lieu of passing the plate, we will place the plates at the table to the rear of the sanctuary for each person to present tithes and/or offerings. However, we will still pray and sing praise for our Heavenly Fathers provision to us.

• Greetings and Bulletins:
  Please refrain from greeting one another with the customary handshakes and hugs.  Worship bulletins will not be re-used after the 8:30 service. Please take your bulletin home or dispose of it as you leave worship.
  Greeters have been asked to refrain from welcoming worshipers with a handshake.

• Nursery:  The nursery has been cleaned and only a limited amount of toys will be available on Sunday.

General Guidelines

1. Seek medical attention if you have any symptoms that are associated with COVID-19, per the CDC. These symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Click here for more information.
2. If you or your child have any type of illness with a fever, please refrain from coming to church until the fever has resolved and you’ve contacted medical professionals.
3. Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water and/or use hand sanitizer when hand washing is not an option.
4. Be especially careful around those particularly susceptible to this virus, specifically the elderly and immune-compromised individuals (people with chronic illnesses, people undergoing cancer treatment, etc.).

Finally, please remember that we, the Christian Community, should not respond to this event out of fear or panic. Instead, we should continue to care for one-another with a commitment to the safety and wellbeing of our church and our neighbors.

• Please pray. Pray for the calm, peace, and assurance that the gospel provides in Jesus Christ.
• Pray for our community and civic leaders, health care workers, local school officials, and all those in positions of power and authority.

Remember that our theology and worldview lead us to respond with peace and joy, generosity and love, patience and hope. Christ is seated upon his glorious throne and we have nothing to fear. We will remain wise and diligent as we seek to honor the lord and care for those he has brought into our care.

Thank you for your partnership in ministry and for responding to these events in a manner worthy of our high calling in Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace,
The Elders of EHPC