Dear Friends,
Scripture sketches a picture of the early church in Acts 2:42: And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (ESV). We do sit under the Apostles’ teaching when we gather online but we’re missing so much more and we know most are eager to be together again.
In consultation with the staff and other local and national church leaders, as well as considering the input you offered in our parish survey, the Vestry and I have decided that we will gather in person for outdoor worship beginning on June 7th. Our first service will be at the Mt Pleasant Farmers Market on Sunday, June 7th at 9 am and this contemporary service will continue each week until we are either granted permission to re-enter Mt. Pleasant Academy or our new Ministry Center. This will be a contemporary service and will be much like we’ve streamed on Sunday mornings but will also include communion. Also, please be aware that these outdoor services will be weather-dependent. In the case of rain, streaming services will be the only alternative.
The Vestry and I have also decided that indoor traditional services will not begin before June 21st and that date could change based on what we are observing locally and what is recommended by local, state, and CDC officials as we approach June 21st. More information will follow regarding the indoor worship service as we get closer to the date.
Sunday, June 7 – Worship Options
You will have three options for Sunday worship beginning June 7th:
- 9 am – Contemporary Service with Communion – Mt Pleasant Farmers Market
- 9 am – Contemporary Service streamed from the Historic Church
- 10:45 am – Traditional Service live-streamed from the Historic Church
Knowing that some people are not comfortable with returning to church, we plan to continue streaming services even as we begin in-person services. Streaming information may be found at StAndrews.Church/Stream.
Many of the policies you see below are a combination of best practices and our agreement with the Town of Mt. Pleasant about the use of their facility. We provide this detailed information so you can make an informed decision about returning to church.
About Our Outdoor Services
Arriving at the Farmers Market
- Maintain physical distancing of 6 feet between your family and others at all times.
- Do not park in the drive at the entrance of the school.
- Park in the St. Andrew’s parking lot, Moultrie Middle parking lots, or across Coleman Boulevard.
- There is only one entrance to the service – Enter at the Farmers Market sign at the corner of Simmons and Coleman Boulevard.
Seating
- Bring your own chairs.
- Wait at the entrance until an usher escorts you to a seating area.
- In order to maintain good physical distancing practices, ushers will direct you to your seating area.
- Keep your family clustered together at your assigned spot.
- Wait for ushers to dismiss your family when the service ends.
Masks, Restrooms, and Sanitation Stations
- Restrooms will not be available at the Farmers Market. Restrooms at St. Andrew’s will be available.
- Masks are encouraged but not required.
- Sanitation stations are currently back-ordered. Please bring your own hand sanitizer.
- Staff and volunteers will wear masks.
- Volunteers that may hand you items will also wear gloves.
Worship Bulletins
- Liturgy and music will be available on our website by Friday evening for downloading/printing and a link to the same will be provided in an email on Saturday
- Printed worship bulletins will also be made available on Sunday morning for those who want them.
Communion
- Attendees will be handed a pre-filled individual sealed communion cups as they arrive by gloved volunteers.
- Everybody will partake of the wafer and the cup as directed by the Celebrant.
After the Dismissal
- Please deposit your offering in the provided baskets as you leave the service.
- Please police your area for communion cups, worship bulletins, and other trash and deposit it in the provided receptacles as you leave.
- In order to maintain appropriate physical distancing we ask you to wait until you are dismissed by an usher before heading to the exit.
Serving Others
As you can imagine, we’ll need a larger team than normal to comply with everything above. If you are willing to serve on our outdoor service team, please contact Maddy Donaldson (MDonaldson@StAndrews.Church or 843.284.4310). There is a mandatory team meeting on Saturday, June 6 at 9 am at the Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market
Love Each Other
This is an extraordinary time and our staff is figuring things out. Those that serve will be doing this for the first time. Please be gracious and kind to one another as we adapt to the circumstances we are faced with. Let us show our community how to love each other in extraordinary ways.
In the Family,
Steve