We’ve been teaching for many years in Soma that the church is not a building, it’s a people, it’s our family, a household. It’s a body made up of many members. It’s a temple of His Spirit, made up of living stones. We’ve never really been about holding events or hosting services. We’ve tried to live as a gospel community on mission and we’re not going to stop now. We need each other – our city needs us – more now than ever. Below are our plans during this season in which we’ve found ourselves.
Sunday Gatherings
We’ll host a streaming Gathering every week at 10 a.m. on our YouTube channel, as well as on our Facebook page. Speaking of SomaKids, we will also post a video each Sunday to use with your young ones. It can be found, pre-recorded, each Sunday morning. We’ll also provide an accompanying video from the Jesus Storybook Bible, along with.
Gospel Communities
We’ll continue to gather in our GCs together weekly. We’ll just use creative, online ways to do so. If you’re interested in joining a Soma GC – and don’t let this season stop you – head to our Missional Communities page. Click on groups you’re interested in, and message the leader. They’d love to get you connected.
Care
While we hope most of your needs (emotional, spiritual, physical, and material) will be met in Gospel Community life, we also have a team of people who would like to serve you. Email Pastor Jon with concerns or needs.
Reopening plan
|
Stay-Home Order |
Phase 1 |
Phase 2 (if necessary) |
Phase 3 (if necessary) |
|
|
Dates |
through May 4 |
May 10-31 |
June 6 or later |
Uncertain: June or July at earliest |
|
Sundays |
Virtual only |
Virtual only |
Host Homes plus Virtual |
Soma plus Virtual |
|
Social distancing |
Stay home |
Strict |
Moderate |
Limited |
|
Gathering max |
Virtual only |
10 to 50 (depending on guidelines) |
10 to 50 (depending on guidelines) |
50 to 100 |
|
Gospel Community |
Virtual only |
Regular, Social or Virtual |
Regular, moderate distancing |
Regular, limited distancing |
|
SomaKids |
Virtual only |
Virtual only |
In groups, moderate distancing plus Virtual |
Safe & separate plus Virtual |
Phases
Phase 1: Gathering in person (hanging out, eating together) was strongly discouraged during the stay-home order, but is allowed under Phase 1. Use wisdom. Gospel Communities can meet as long as you are practice social distancing.
Phase 2: Gospel Communities will continue to take place if there is not a spike in new cases in May and gathering in homes remains an option. We might be able to go right to Phase 3 if we’re able to hold full gatherings at Soma with SomaKids classes. (We probably won’t meet at Soma until we can provide SomaKids care.)
-
- Covenant Members, regular attendees, and visitors will be invited into 4 to 8 host homes for Sunday worship gatherings
- Gatherings will continue to be about 60 minutes long and an additional lesson and activities for children, and will be available on our YouTube channel as well.
- You can choose which host home you attend, although we’ll likely make a recommendation if each group remains 10 or less (including kids)
- Families with children may need to be spread across each of the groups in the case of a 10-person max
- We’d be able to take communion together! But we will use little crackers and tiny cups and observe moderate distancing while partaking.
Phase 3: Worship Gatherings, whenever they can begin (hopefully in June or July), will include the following guidelines:
-
- Families with children we will have a SomaKids volunteer will check in your children for you and will enter through the downstairs entrance.
- Individuals without children will enter through the doors at the top of the stairs.
- The adult worship gathering will be limited to 50 people, and the SomaKids gathering will be limited to 50 people. In the case that we have more than 50 in our worship gathering, we will offer two services.
- Coffee and snacks will not be provided but you are welcome to bring your own.
- We will participate in communion together! Crackers and tiny cups and distancing and all that.
- Physical touch is discouraged, air fives and air hugs are encouraged. We will provide hand sanitization stations, clean restrooms, and prop doors open so limited touching is required. Drinking fountains will be closed.
- After the worship gathering, parents will meet their children at the pick-up station (downstairs), and will exit out the downstairs doors. Children should not enter the auditorium before or after SomaKids. (There won’t be snacks or bread anyway.)
- We will still provide live streaming of these gatherings for those who choose to stay home.
Following Phase 3: Lord willing and the virus don’t rise, our Sunday Gatherings will be relatively normal by late Summer or Fall. We will provide extra hand sanitizer and may limit coffee and snacks and still use separate entries and exits for families with children. We will continue to operate on the side of safety for our Covenant Members.
Notes
Phases 1-3 follow federal guidelines released on April 27th. Missouri stay-home order lifts May 4th. This also accounts for the City of Jefferson and Cole County’s guidelines. These orders run at least through May 31 but can be changed at any time. The new Missouri order, in effect from May 4-31, aligns with Phase 1 of the federal guidelines, suggesting our state’s cases have been in steady decline, healthcare facilities are not overstressed, and protective equipment is available relative to need. We can praise and thank God for this! Federal, state, and local guidelines during Phase 1 allow for church gatherings with strict (6’) social distancing but also recommend that individuals avoid any gatherings of more than 10 people. Our plan follows a conservative, slow return to worship gatherings rather than press federal guidelines to resume normal activities. These phases and dates assume all Soma attendees will practice good hygiene as outlined in federal guidelines and stay home when feeling sick.
“Vulnerable population” as defined by federal guidelines:
“Elderly individuals and individuals with serious underlying health conditions, including high blood pressure, chronic lung disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, and those whose immune system is compromised such as by chemotherapy for cancer and other conditions requiring such therapy.”
Federal guidelines do not outline the differences between strict, moderate, and limited social distancing, so use wisdom and honor others.
This season is an opportunity to honor one another above ourselves and promote unity within our church and among the church in our city. Some members will re-enter society more slowly than others. Other local churches will feel led to apply the federal, state, and local guidelines differently. We will seek to honor others’ decisions, even if we disagree with them.
This is our best attempt to promote member health, honor national guidelines, and maintain the regular life of the church. We are closely watching our community’s health and will continue to operate under guidelines set by public authorities. Thus, all this can change at almost any time.