Greetings from Lake Mead Baptist Church
Last night, Nevada's governor announced that Phase Two of the reopening plan for Nevada is going to begin this Friday, May 29th. Within that reopening plan, it specified that it will be permitted for people to gather in groups of up to fifty and that churches can reopen their services. If you remember, when the shutdowns began for our state eleven weeks ago, we closed our services when the gathering restrictions went from fifty to ten. Since then, it has been my intention to reopen as soon as this restriction was lifted and our gatherings could be up to fifty people or more once again. Therefore, I am excited to announce that our church's doors will be open this coming Sunday (May 31st)!
In light of the fact that our community, state, and country is still in a process of transition to reopen, I wanted to list which elements of our church's activities will be open and which ones will remain on hold until further notice:
1.) Sunday morning and Sunday evening worship services will resume at their normal times.
2.) Sunday School classes will resume at their normal times.
3.) Ladies Bible study will resume at its normal time on June 2nd.
4.) Wednesday evening prayer meeting will resume at its normal time on June 3rd.
5.) Nursery will continue to be postponed until further notice.
6.) Children's Church will continue to be postponed until further notice.
Because we will be reopening our gatherings there are a few accommodations that the church will be able to provide:
1.) The rows in the sanctuary will be distanced further apart.
2.) Prepackaged and sealed communion elements will be provided for communion Sundays.
3.) The offering plates will be placed at convenient access points.
4.) Sermons will continue to be recorded and posted online for those who decide to stay home.
In addition, there are some guidelines that I wanted to recommend to everyone as they return to our gatherings:
1.) I wanted to recommend that everyone follow the CDC guidelines as much as possible and as your conscience allows.
2.) If you or a member of your family is feeling sick, please stay home until you are fully recovered.
3.) Most importantly, if you are able and decide to attend our services this weekend and going forward, please be conscientious of the sensitivity of others and their convictions. As we all begin to return to our gatherings, there is going to be a learning curve as to how we operate around one another and I wanted to encourage as much as possible to handle this learning curve as our Lord would have us: with love, grace, and respect toward one another. I am confident that you will excel in this as you have throughout this eleven week quarantine, but please continue to keep your love for one another and others as the primary aim of your heart as you come to worship.
Lastly, I wanted to ask if you would all continue to lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ within our community, state, country, and those around the world as they navigate their own reopening plans and as they interact with their governments. There are so many different factors at play for each context and I wanted to ask if you would pray for encouragement and wisdom for them as they navigate the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Thank you all so much for your love, grace, and encouragement toward myself and one another through this long and trying time for our congregation. You have been an example of love, faith, and patience as we have gone through this trial. I look forward to finally being able to gather once again together this coming Sunday! If you are able, I look forward to seeing you there.
God bless you!
In Christ,
Mitchell
5/27/20
Last night, Nevada's governor announced that Phase Two of the reopening plan for Nevada is going to begin this Friday, May 29th. Within that reopening plan, it specified that it will be permitted for people to gather in groups of up to fifty and that churches can reopen their services. If you remember, when the shutdowns began for our state eleven weeks ago, we closed our services when the gathering restrictions went from fifty to ten. Since then, it has been my intention to reopen as soon as this restriction was lifted and our gatherings could be up to fifty people or more once again. Therefore, I am excited to announce that our church's doors will be open this coming Sunday (May 31st)!
In light of the fact that our community, state, and country is still in a process of transition to reopen, I wanted to list which elements of our church's activities will be open and which ones will remain on hold until further notice:
1.) Sunday morning and Sunday evening worship services will resume at their normal times.
2.) Sunday School classes will resume at their normal times.
3.) Ladies Bible study will resume at its normal time on June 2nd.
4.) Wednesday evening prayer meeting will resume at its normal time on June 3rd.
5.) Nursery will continue to be postponed until further notice.
6.) Children's Church will continue to be postponed until further notice.
Because we will be reopening our gatherings there are a few accommodations that the church will be able to provide:
1.) The rows in the sanctuary will be distanced further apart.
2.) Prepackaged and sealed communion elements will be provided for communion Sundays.
3.) The offering plates will be placed at convenient access points.
4.) Sermons will continue to be recorded and posted online for those who decide to stay home.
In addition, there are some guidelines that I wanted to recommend to everyone as they return to our gatherings:
1.) I wanted to recommend that everyone follow the CDC guidelines as much as possible and as your conscience allows.
2.) If you or a member of your family is feeling sick, please stay home until you are fully recovered.
3.) Most importantly, if you are able and decide to attend our services this weekend and going forward, please be conscientious of the sensitivity of others and their convictions. As we all begin to return to our gatherings, there is going to be a learning curve as to how we operate around one another and I wanted to encourage as much as possible to handle this learning curve as our Lord would have us: with love, grace, and respect toward one another. I am confident that you will excel in this as you have throughout this eleven week quarantine, but please continue to keep your love for one another and others as the primary aim of your heart as you come to worship.
Lastly, I wanted to ask if you would all continue to lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ within our community, state, country, and those around the world as they navigate their own reopening plans and as they interact with their governments. There are so many different factors at play for each context and I wanted to ask if you would pray for encouragement and wisdom for them as they navigate the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Thank you all so much for your love, grace, and encouragement toward myself and one another through this long and trying time for our congregation. You have been an example of love, faith, and patience as we have gone through this trial. I look forward to finally being able to gather once again together this coming Sunday! If you are able, I look forward to seeing you there.
God bless you!
In Christ,
Mitchell
5/27/20