Covid Response
Update
August 2021
After relaxing our COVID protocols earlier this year, our staff team has decided to adjust our approach based on the new surge in recent weeks.
Effective Sunday, August 15, we will return to having TWO Sunday morning worship options:
9:00 AM
Social Distance Service
11:00 AM
Open Seating Service
This means our early service will have the following protocols:
- Temperature Checks
- Social Distancing
- Masks required for leaders
- Masks recommended for others
- Disinfectant stations in traffic areas
- Extra cleaning of surfaces
- Coffee service by gloved persons
These protocols apply ONLY to our 9AM Service.
2nd service, Sunday evening gatherings, Youth Group and Celebrate Recovery are all exempted. This situation may change, and we will communicate as early as possible.
Our staff reached this decision after looking at the recent numbers and responding on behalf of our people.
You can see the most current Georgia Status Report here:
We believe the person best suited to make good decisions for you and your family is YOU. Our job as leaders is to provide options as we can.
Doing our best to consider the needs of the vulnerable in our congregation, we are making these two options available for you to choose from.
It seems that the virus is now everywhere, and it has seriously affected friends, family members, and neighbors all around us. Several of our own people here at The Orchard Church have recently been hospitalized, due to severe cases.
Thankfully, YOU are doing a great job with this. While lots of us have acquired this virus, we still know of no internal transmitting from one to another inside The Orchard Church. This is because you have hand-sanitized, kept appropriate social distances, and worn masks.
Thank you.
None of us like these precautions, but we recognize our responsibility to our neighbors to do what we can to protect each other. While it has certainly felt restrictive, we are actually opening the door to worship for others. We take this approach straight from Romans 15:1-3:
We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself.
Thank you for your patience and your willing approach to loving others in this way. In doing this, you are demonstrating that we stand together in Christ, obedient to the first and greatest commandment, which is loving God, and loving others. (Matthew 22:36-40)
We continue to monitor the situation, always hoping that we will very soon be able to relax our restrictions.