Concerning Coronavirus

Saturday, March 14th Update
We will still be having our full slate of Sunday morning activities tomorrow. Please note the following adjustments that are being made in lieu of coronavirus:

We are asking visitors to limit all physical contact, including handshaking.
Extra hand sanitation stations have been installed.
We will not be having the normal post-announcement greeting time.
We will not be passing offering plates. Ushers will hold onto them during the collection time.

We are continuing to plan for further changes as the situation unfolds. Please come back to this site for additional news in the coming days.

Beloved EMC Family,

I’m writing you this morning concerning the current situation involving the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease it causes (COVID-19). My intention is not to brief you on the medical facts of the outbreak, but on its current and potential impact on our church’s life. For information on the epidemic itself, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, there are presently 7 presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in the state, with Virginia reporting another 8. Without sensationalizing the situation like the daily news or dismissing it altogether, the Board of Stewards, ministry staff, and I are taking this event seriously and will be taking whatever precautions necessary to ensure EMC is as safe of a place of worship as possible and that we are caring for one another as the family of God that we are.

What follows is a list of bulleted items for you to review, in no particular order. Please take a few minutes to read them thoroughly.

There are currently no plans to cancel any church worship gatherings or events. In the event we sense the situation becomes one where it would be best to cancel church activities, we will inform you via email, the church website (ecityemc.org), and the church Facebook page (facebook.com/ecityemc). Please bookmark these pages and check them regularly for updates.
If/when the time comes to cancel a worship gathering, we will utilize the platforms made available by Facebook and YouTube (EMC’s channel is available here) to ensure the ministry of the Word at EMC continues. Online giving will also remain available through the church’s website at ecityemc.org/giving.php.
We are working to ensure the church is being properly cleaned and high impact areas are being regularly sanitized. Bathrooms, door handles, light switches, drinking fountains, and other commonly used hard surfaces are receiving extra attention in between gatherings. Marcy has informed me that the KidZone/Preschool area is being cleaned more deeply and regularly each week. Please note also the presence of hand sanitizer stations located across campus. We are installing temporary signage to assist you in locating them on the walls.
To help ensure our gatherings are as safe as possible, we request your assistance through responsible personal hygiene and interpersonal interactions. If you feel sick, please stay home. Please wash your hands regularly. Please cough and sneeze into a tissue (and dispose of it) or into the inside of your elbow. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with your hands. And please be gracious to others at church who may wish to avoid physical contact (hand shakes, hugs, etc.).
We will continue to offer communion on the first Sunday of each month. Volunteers who serve the elements are already given Purell sanitation wipes to use immediately prior to coming up front to assist. We will be adding hand sanitizer pumps to the front for them to use as an extra measure and for the benefit of the congregation’s peace of mind. For those who do not wish to receive the elements by intinction, we will be expanding our offerings of the individually wrapped communion elements we normally offer on the far (organ) side of the worship platform.
Please be extra diligent in your watchful care for one another. It is precisely during times such as this that we must live as the Body of Christ. “Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith” (Galatians 6:10). “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Check in on each another, especially those among our fellowship who are further along in years, are more isolated, are less independent, or are prone to getting sick. Above all else, pray continually for one another (Ephesians 6:18; I Timothy 2:1; James 5:16).

As your pastor and brother in Christ, I exhort you to worry or be anxious about nothing. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) God is sovereign and in control of the events in the world and your life is hidden with Christ in him (Colossians 3:3). Be smart, stay vigilant, keep the faith, and stay focused on Jesus and helping one another and we will make it through this together.

In Him. With you.
Pastor Sean