Note: Video of In-Person Worship Service can be found at Worship on the Web.
“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” – Colossians 3:12
Dear Christ the King Community,
As the Church Council, pastors, and staff have carefully and prayerfully considered how to safely resume the use of our building in a way that ensures the health and well-being of our community, it has been with the understanding that, unfortunately, progress might not be constant. As mentioned in the June/July issue of the King’s Herald, a “fall back” to earlier steps of our reopening plan could be necessary, based on the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic in St. Joseph County.
The Church Council has determined that now is such a time — the 11:15 a.m. Sunday worship services in the sanctuary are suspended, effective immediately, until further notice. Given the risk presented by large groups of people gathering indoors for extended periods of time, as well as the continued increase in coronavirus cases throughout St. Joseph County, indoor worship currently poses a threat to our community of faith. A prayer and Holy Communion will be offered under the canopy at 11:15 a.m., and other outdoor options at that time are being considered.
As was the case during the second step of our reopening in June, there will continue to be two ways to participate in weekly worship at CtK -- the 9:30 a.m. Sunday drive-in service in the parking lot, or the online worship video that is posted every week on ctkluth.com. Small groups will continue to be allowed to meet inside the building when following masking and distancing guidelines. Some of our small groups have enjoyed meeting outdoors — under the canopy, in the outdoor chapel, atop the hill, in the parking lot — and others are encouraged to consider that option as well.
Guidance issued to local school districts by the St. Joseph County Department of Health identifies three stages of coronavirus activity and transmission — red, yellow, and green. Our area is currently far above the “red” threshold, which carries a strong recommendation against large groups gathering in person. Once the community health level returns to the “yellow” threshold, in which reduced-capacity indoor gatherings are recommended, the Church Council will consider resuming sanctuary worship.
This decision is certainly disappointing for those who have enjoyed being back in the sanctuary, and it is for the Church Council as well. The discussion was prompted by a recent letter from Indiana-Kentucky Synod Bishop Bill Gafkjen urging congregations to continue to be patient and careful about indoor gatherings, given the worsening public health situation in both states. He and other religious leaders were asked by the Kentucky governor to suggest that churches only worship online or in parking lots, and Bishop Gakfjen extended that recommendation to congregations in Indiana, as well.
“As important as worship together is, the mission of the church is to share the good news of Jesus, to love and serve our neighbors,” he wrote. “It may very well be that one of the masks we are called to wear during this time, one of the crosses we are called to take up, is to not gather in-person while we continue being church for one another and for the life of the world.”
That sounds remarkably similar to our mission statement, and made it clear to the Council that, right now, loving and serving the world means not gathering in our sanctuary.
In Christ,
Chuck Trundle, Church Council President
Josh Weinhold, Church Council Vice President
Dear Christ the King Community,
As the Church Council, pastors, and staff have carefully and prayerfully considered how to safely resume the use of our building in a way that ensures the health and well-being of our community, it has been with the understanding that, unfortunately, progress might not be constant. As mentioned in the June/July issue of the King’s Herald, a “fall back” to earlier steps of our reopening plan could be necessary, based on the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic in St. Joseph County.
The Church Council has determined that now is such a time — the 11:15 a.m. Sunday worship services in the sanctuary are suspended, effective immediately, until further notice. Given the risk presented by large groups of people gathering indoors for extended periods of time, as well as the continued increase in coronavirus cases throughout St. Joseph County, indoor worship currently poses a threat to our community of faith. A prayer and Holy Communion will be offered under the canopy at 11:15 a.m., and other outdoor options at that time are being considered.
As was the case during the second step of our reopening in June, there will continue to be two ways to participate in weekly worship at CtK -- the 9:30 a.m. Sunday drive-in service in the parking lot, or the online worship video that is posted every week on ctkluth.com. Small groups will continue to be allowed to meet inside the building when following masking and distancing guidelines. Some of our small groups have enjoyed meeting outdoors — under the canopy, in the outdoor chapel, atop the hill, in the parking lot — and others are encouraged to consider that option as well.
Guidance issued to local school districts by the St. Joseph County Department of Health identifies three stages of coronavirus activity and transmission — red, yellow, and green. Our area is currently far above the “red” threshold, which carries a strong recommendation against large groups gathering in person. Once the community health level returns to the “yellow” threshold, in which reduced-capacity indoor gatherings are recommended, the Church Council will consider resuming sanctuary worship.
This decision is certainly disappointing for those who have enjoyed being back in the sanctuary, and it is for the Church Council as well. The discussion was prompted by a recent letter from Indiana-Kentucky Synod Bishop Bill Gafkjen urging congregations to continue to be patient and careful about indoor gatherings, given the worsening public health situation in both states. He and other religious leaders were asked by the Kentucky governor to suggest that churches only worship online or in parking lots, and Bishop Gakfjen extended that recommendation to congregations in Indiana, as well.
“As important as worship together is, the mission of the church is to share the good news of Jesus, to love and serve our neighbors,” he wrote. “It may very well be that one of the masks we are called to wear during this time, one of the crosses we are called to take up, is to not gather in-person while we continue being church for one another and for the life of the world.”
That sounds remarkably similar to our mission statement, and made it clear to the Council that, right now, loving and serving the world means not gathering in our sanctuary.
In Christ,
Chuck Trundle, Church Council President
Josh Weinhold, Church Council Vice President
