A message to our church regarding COVID-19 (March 12)

March 18th, 2020

Hey New Covenant!

At New Covenant we care deeply about you and your family. We look forward to being together every weekend to engage families in God’s bigger story. When we gather together, it is important to us that you and your family are not only inspired and impacted, but also that you are SAFE. With this in mind, we want to communicate with you about how we, at New Covenant, are addressing the Coronavirus situation so that you are confident and comfortable in attending.

We are closely watching this rapidly escalating situation and are aware of the many institutions and organizations throughout Michigan and the country that are canceling their events. At this time, we are fully planning to host all of our regularly scheduled services and programs this Sunday. If changes to the schedule are necessary in the coming weeks or days, we will communicate those to you in a timely fashion.

We are working hard to ensure our environments are clean and safe for you and your family.

During the crisis, these extra precautions will be taken to prevent the spread of germs:

We will be placing additional hand sanitizer throughout our building.
We will have a team disinfecting door handles and surfaces throughout the building before, during and after services.
We are encouraging waving and smiling rather than handshakes and hugs.
We will not pass collection baskets and ask that you faithfully use the other means for giving: online, through the app, or by placing your gift into one of the giving boxes located on the walls throughout the building.
We will remove children from the classroom if they appear to be sick and will notify parents immediately.

Along with these steps, to prevent the unnecessary spread of germs in a large gathering of people, we also recommend familiarizing yourself with these CDC and World Health Organization recommendations:

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Stay home when you are sick or if you have been exposed to sickness.

With those recommendations in mind, we would ask those who are sick to please stay home which is best for you and for others. Moreover, if you are concerned that attending a large gathering may put your health at risk, please feel free to stay home. As always, we will continue to offer a live stream of our worship services online for those who cannot attend in person.
Finally, don’t forget, as 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind.” This verse encourages us not to panic, but to plan. We are choosing planning over panic and ask you to join with us in prayer for how best to be a source of hope and an expression of compassion to our communities in the middle of this challenging time.
Faithfully,
Pastor Barry