18 June 2020

Dear Hinson Baptist Church,

With the announcement of Multnomah County’s approval to enter Phase 1 reopening tomorrow, we draw closer to being able to meet together again for public worship. More than three months since our last meeting, we are all eager for that day. But that glad day will not bring joy for all of us. Sadly, we’re aware that not everyone will be able to safely gather, so we will continue to livestream until we can all assemble.

For members with compromised immunity or underlying health conditions, the risk may prove too great to join our assembly. Even otherwise healthy members 65 years and older, who bear a significantly increased risk of extended hospitalization, may delay their participation until more effective treatments for COVID-19 are developed. Many in our congregation live with family members who are vulnerable, and so may choose to abstain from gathering out of love for them.

For all of these reasons, I’m reminded of Israel’s experience under Ezra when the foundation of the new temple was laid. “Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord…but many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly” (Ez. 3:11-12). In a fallen world, even our joys are mixed with sadness and the best of days are bittersweet. It makes us all long for heaven, “where congregations ne’er break up, and Sabbaths have no end.”

I want you to know some of the steps we’re taking in order to gather safely. As we enter Phase 1, we’ll continue to invite specific small groups to be present. For the past few weeks a single small group has been present for the morning service. Starting this Sunday, we’ll have a small group at the evening service as well. Though most everyone remains on the other side of the camera, these small groups are helping the staff work out the logistics and details for a larger gathering in Phase 2.

When Phase 2 begins, Lord willing, in a few weeks, we’ll begin to invite larger cohorts to participate. These cohorts will be built around multiple small groups and based largely on geography. Details of these cohorts will follow in the coming days. Membership in a small group is not required, but it certainly makes logistics and communication easier, and spiritual care more consistent. So, if you’ve been thinking of joining or leading a small group, now’s the time! Just contact Neal Woollard at the church office.

We’re not planning to start with the maximum occupancy allowed by the governor’s formula in Phase 2 (up to 250 based on 35 sq. ft/person), which works out to a little more than 200 for our auditorium. Instead, we’ll start at around 100 and slowly dial that up as we’re able to safely. When it’s your cohort’s turn, you’ll be invited to register through the Church Center app. If you haven’t already, now is the time to download it and get comfortable using it. If you need help, or don’t have a smartphone or other suitable device, please let the church office know, and we’ll help you. When you register, you’ll be asked to affirm a release of liability for attending as well as information about symptoms and exposure to COVID-19.

Before you leave home on your cohort’s Sunday, you’ll check in on the Church Center app to get a QR code, like the boarding pass you use at the airport. As always, when you arrive, you’ll be warmly greeted at the door, but with some additional questions about symptoms and exposure. We’ll also take your temperature and give you a mask to wear if you didn’t bring your own. This won’t be optional, as Multnomah County requires masks in indoor public spaces for everyone 12 years old and above. Since you can’t enter the building if you have a temperature or symptoms, avoid disappointment and check those yourself before you leave for church.

Once inside you’ll scan your QR code and then be seated by family group. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to choose your seat, but there’s really not a bad seat in the auditorium. With 6 feet between each group, you won’t have to worry about someone blocking your view or crowding your space! 

We’re not able to safely offer childcare at this point, so parents feel free to bring snacks, coloring books, and anything else you need to help all of your children make it through the service happily. We’ll have a variety of “cry room” options, but they’ll be limited. Don’t wait until it’s your Sunday to introduce your older children (3+) to wearing a mask or occupying themselves quietly. You can start training them now. But rest assured, after being apart for so long, no one in that room is going to be bothered by noisy children.

After the service is over, you’ll be released by rows just like at a formal wedding. I know we’ll all want to catch up with each other, but that will need to happen outside, and not in large groups. We want everyone to stay well and be able to attend next time.

I know all of this sounds strange and uncomfortable, and we long to go back to the way things were. But Christians have been gathering to worship Christ under adverse conditions from the beginning. They met in catacombs and caves. They gathered long before dawn, or well after sunset. They worshiped with guards and lookouts at the doors. They sang their praise to God quietly. But despite these difficulties they gathered to worship because Christ is worthy of his people’s corporate worship in every circumstance no matter how hard.

The Lord in his providence has given us a difficult set of circumstances in which to worship. But though the conditions have changed, the Lord has not. He is still our God and we are still his people. And so, we will gather to sing his praise, with masks on, but with hearts full of love for the Savior who gladly entered the circumstances of our humanity in order to bring us into the glorious freedom of the children of God. And that is a freedom that no virus can touch.

Your pastor,
Michael Lawrence