PLEASE NOTE: The information in this blog applies to Sunday 17. May and beyond. Sunday service THIS WEEK continues with “live stream” online at 12:30 h.

Last week we announced that we would begin a “new normal” for onsite worship beginning 17. May, and I asked you to respond to a survey regarding start time. The results are in (see chart below)!

Onsite Worship – We will begin onsite worship on 17. May at 13:00 h for a limited number of people. Don’t worry we will continue to offer online worship as well!

Here’s what you need to do to attend worship onsite:

• Sign up – complete the registration form for each family member attending including name, address, phone number/email address (see below)
• Show up – if you sign up, show up since you are preventing someone else from attending when you don’t; if you can’t sign up, please, don’t show up
• Serve up – we will need host, sound, beamer, and cleaner support; if you are able, please, respond with a “yes” when your team leader contacts you about helping out

Worship Registration Form is available HERE.

When registration has reached the limit of 45 people, you will not be permitted to complete the form. Please, if you are unable to sign up don’t show up since we will not be able to seat you. [If you’re having technical difficulties trying to register, please, contact the church office.]

When you show up here’s what you can expect:

• You will be required to disinfect your hands at the door upon entering
• You must maintain a minimum distance of 1.5 m from non-household members
• No physical contact with non-household members is permitted
• You should wear a mouth-nose cover/protection [please, bring your own]
• You must enter through the main doors and exit through the rear doors behind the stage [i.e. the door on the right and the door to the parking lot]
• No kids ministry or coffee time is offered

Online Worship Beginning 17. May – For those unable to attend onsite worship, join us for our online worship at 15:00 h for a “simulated live” interactive worship followed immediately by a sermon discussion time complete with breakout conversation and prayer groups.

We will implement these changes on the 17. May and check in with you by the end of May to see if we need to make any adjustments – i.e. add a second onsite worship, tweak the online interactive format, etc.

Thank you for your patient endurance during these days of challenge and change.  If there’s any way that we can serve you, please, reach out to me and I’ll be happy to help you negotiate these days of physical distancing during this pandemic.

I miss seeing you and look forward to the day when I can see you face to face.

Scott

*Survey Results (44 respondents)

Are you prepared for the new normal?

As the world adapts to the challenges of the Covid-pandemic, we will have to get used to the new normal. The same is true for us as a church family @ IBCB. 

Churches have been granted permission by the state to once again meet for public worship as long as they meet the stringent requirements to prevent the further spread of Covid-19.  So, we’re making plans to re-open, but be forewarned — things will not be the same.  We’ll have to get used to a new normal for the near future.

Oh, there will be the familiar elements of worship with which you are familiar.  We’ll enjoy Singing, Scripture reading, a Sermon, and the Supper.  We’ll actually get to be in the same room with each other and enjoy the warmth of physical presence. However, in order to comply with current health guidelines, it will happen in a different context.  Here’s what you can expect:

• A maximum number of 50 worshippers are permitted; therefore, advanced registration for attendance is required
• Names, phone numbers and/or email addresses of all attendees will be collected and kept on file for four weeks
• Participants are required to disinfect their hands at the door upon entering
• A minimum distance of 1.5 m from other people must be maintained at all times, though families/households may sit together
• No physical contact with non-household members is permitted
• Participants should wear a mouth-nose cover/protection [please, bring your own]
• Enter through the main doors and exit through the door behind the stage [i.e. the door on the right]

While we’re eager to see each other again, please, help us be good stewards as we help control the spread of the virus. If you are sick – i.e. fever, cold-like symptoms, or breathing issues – do not come! If you are in a high-risk group – or someone in your household is in a high-risk group, please, stay at home. If your children are not able to maintain the social distancing requirements, do not bring them. [We are not providing for any Kids Ministry program on-site.] We encourage you to take advantage of our online church offerings for worship, fellowship, and instruction.

To help us get ready to reopen the church doors for worship, we need a couple of things from you. First, what time is the best time for you to attend public worship at Rothenburgstrasse? We will not be able to meet at 12:30 h because our host church has changed their schedule. Please, complete section 1 of this survey to let us know the best start time for a one-hour, on-site public worship service.

Second, what time is the best for you to participate in online worship? For technical reasons, broadcasting a recorded worship service with live hosting support – it’s called “simulated live” – is preferable to live stream. Additionally, would you participate in an online sermon discussion group? We’d like to encourage the disciple-making fellowship of discussion, sharing, and praying in a post-worship, interactive ZOOM meeting. Help us as we make plans to continue and improve upon our online worship experience and increase our relational connections by completing section 2 of the same survey.

This next week, we’ll have the results of the survey, finalize decisions, and make plans that will be communicated in next week’s eNotes. If you have any questions or comments, please, let us know. If you have any ideas or suggestions about how we might maximize our experience of “physically distanced and masked” worship, please, let us know.

Covid-19 has forced us to adapt to our changing world. One thing we can count on for sure: our ever-present and faithful God who offers himself to us in love, grace, mercy, and strength. With his presence and guidance we will experience new depths of the hope … the glorious future … he has in store for us as his people, a future where we will be together, with him forever.

Coming to IBC Berlin in May!