COVID-19 Updates
Dear Members and Friends of First Presbyterian Church,
After many long months of not being able to worship inside our church, we will resume in-person worship beginning on Sunday, November 29, the First Sunday of Advent. What a joyful way to greet Advent!
There will be one worship service at 9:00 a.m. Ninety (90) congregants will be seated in the Sanctuary. The Fellowship Hall will hold twenty-four (24) congregants who will worship together via Livestream. Livestream will also continue to be available for those who wish to worship remotely.
To worship in the Sanctuary or Fellowship Hall, registration is required in advance. You may register by visiting www.fpcgastonia.org/services. Seating is limited, therefore, registration is required so that proper social distancing can be established ahead of time. If you are unable to register online, please call the church office and you will be registered over the phone.
Professional nursery care will be provided for up to ten (10) children from infant to age four (4). Registration for the nursery is also required by visiting www.fpcgastonia.org/services. Parents/Guardians with children in the nursery may find it more convenient to worship in the Fellowship Hall since the nursery will not be easily accessible from the Sanctuary.
To gather in person, the Session, the Task Force on Reopening and the Worship and Music Ministry have worked diligently to do so safely and with emphatic measures in place. All measures that these ministries have put in place are based on CDC guidelines and on the recommendations of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Every procedure has been thoroughly considered with the health and safety of your family in mind. Please make note of the following guidelines as you consider if you and your family wish to worship in-person at First Presbyterian Church.
Specific to the experience of worship, when you arrive you will notice that the Sanctuary and the Fellowship Hall have been specially prepared. Plastic sheeting has been used to protect all of the pews and the Fellowship Hall is in a “bare bones” state. All of this is for easy sanitization following each worship service in these spaces.
On November 29, we will celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Prepackaged communion elements will be available when entering the Sanctuary or Fellowship Hall, or you may bring your own elements from home.
While offering plates will not be passed, baskets will be provided at entrance points for those who wish to make contributions. Online giving will continue to be available at www.fpcgastonia.org/giving.
By attending in-person worship, you and your family covenant to adhere to all guidelines and measures that are included in this communication so as to protect the safety and wellbeing of our church family. There may be additional procedures that need to be implemented following our reopening; the Session and the Task Force appreciate your cooperation as we navigate these uncertain times.
It is with delight that we anticipate worshipping together in person as we begin the Advent season. We are overjoyed that we are able to worship together, whether in- person or via Livestream, as we celebrate this holy season of God’s gift to us.
Thank you for your patience and understanding in the midst of these changing times as we seek to keep our spaces clean, love our neighbor and explore the audacity of Advent!
In Christ’s Love,
The Session
The Task Force on Reopening
The Worship and Music Ministry
As of June 1, church staff will be in the office during normal business hours, but will be available by appointment only. To make an appointment, please call (704) 864-2651. We encourage you to continue to contact us via phone or email, as the church building remains closed to the public at this time.
After many long months of not being able to worship inside our church, we will resume in-person worship beginning on Sunday, November 29, the First Sunday of Advent. What a joyful way to greet Advent!
There will be one worship service at 9:00 a.m. Ninety (90) congregants will be seated in the Sanctuary. The Fellowship Hall will hold twenty-four (24) congregants who will worship together via Livestream. Livestream will also continue to be available for those who wish to worship remotely.
To worship in the Sanctuary or Fellowship Hall, registration is required in advance. You may register by visiting www.fpcgastonia.org/services. Seating is limited, therefore, registration is required so that proper social distancing can be established ahead of time. If you are unable to register online, please call the church office and you will be registered over the phone.
Professional nursery care will be provided for up to ten (10) children from infant to age four (4). Registration for the nursery is also required by visiting www.fpcgastonia.org/services. Parents/Guardians with children in the nursery may find it more convenient to worship in the Fellowship Hall since the nursery will not be easily accessible from the Sanctuary.
To gather in person, the Session, the Task Force on Reopening and the Worship and Music Ministry have worked diligently to do so safely and with emphatic measures in place. All measures that these ministries have put in place are based on CDC guidelines and on the recommendations of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Every procedure has been thoroughly considered with the health and safety of your family in mind. Please make note of the following guidelines as you consider if you and your family wish to worship in-person at First Presbyterian Church.
- When you arrive for worship, greeters will be in the parking lot to direct you to the closest entrance for your family.
- When entering the worship space for which you have registered, an usher will guide you to where you will sit so that physical distancing is practiced and maintained. Families and individuals will not have a choice as to the exact seat for which they will sit. Families will be seated together, at a minimum of 6 feet from the next family unit.
- Please take your temperature prior to coming to the church on Sunday morning. If your temperature is 100.0 or higher please stay at home.
- If you are experiencing other symptoms such as fatigue, headache, sore throat, cough, difficulty breathing or inability to taste and/or smell, please stay home.
- Congregants will be required to wear masks at all times, no exceptions.
- Restroom capacity is limited to one person at a time.
- Hand sanitizing stations will be available.
- While the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall will be open for worship, other areas of the building will not be open in order to maintain proper sanitization.
- “Red Dot” markers will be throughout the areas of access in the building, spaced 6 feet apart, so that worshippers will visually be able to see how far they should be standing from others.
Specific to the experience of worship, when you arrive you will notice that the Sanctuary and the Fellowship Hall have been specially prepared. Plastic sheeting has been used to protect all of the pews and the Fellowship Hall is in a “bare bones” state. All of this is for easy sanitization following each worship service in these spaces.
On November 29, we will celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Prepackaged communion elements will be available when entering the Sanctuary or Fellowship Hall, or you may bring your own elements from home.
While offering plates will not be passed, baskets will be provided at entrance points for those who wish to make contributions. Online giving will continue to be available at www.fpcgastonia.org/giving.
By attending in-person worship, you and your family covenant to adhere to all guidelines and measures that are included in this communication so as to protect the safety and wellbeing of our church family. There may be additional procedures that need to be implemented following our reopening; the Session and the Task Force appreciate your cooperation as we navigate these uncertain times.
It is with delight that we anticipate worshipping together in person as we begin the Advent season. We are overjoyed that we are able to worship together, whether in- person or via Livestream, as we celebrate this holy season of God’s gift to us.
Thank you for your patience and understanding in the midst of these changing times as we seek to keep our spaces clean, love our neighbor and explore the audacity of Advent!
In Christ’s Love,
The Session
The Task Force on Reopening
The Worship and Music Ministry
As of June 1, church staff will be in the office during normal business hours, but will be available by appointment only. To make an appointment, please call (704) 864-2651. We encourage you to continue to contact us via phone or email, as the church building remains closed to the public at this time.
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Affiliated with: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Presbytery of Western North Carolina
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