Dear LifeWay family,
UPDATE: July 24, 2020
Words can’t express how much we’ve missed gathering together over the past few months. And while it’s been wonderful to watch us come together to support one another and keep connected, we’re excited to announce that we can do some of that in person soon.
That’s right—our church leadership has decided to reopen our building for services on August 2nd, 2020
We have prayerfully considered the right time to reopen and asked God for the wisdom to do it safely. We’ll continue to lean on him and on each other as we remain patient and work together to follow social distancing guidelines upon reopening.
Our service at Epping will be at 9.30am as usual, but we are also introducing a new service at 5pm, while at Newcastle it will be at 9.30am. There will be a few things that will be different. Here are the quick facts:
- We will keep a safe distance from one another by placing each seat 1.5m apart. Please don’t move the chairs as we are mindful that some people come by themselves and we don’t want them to feel separated from the whole community.
- You will need to pre-register for services to give us time to prepare to accommodate everyone as spaces are limited, (80 Epping – 35 Newcastle) so make sure you register on the App or website, or call the office on Monday or Thursday between 9.30am-1.30pm. Those who normally worship at Epping, please consider coming to the 5pm service. All entry at Epping is to be via the front door. It is a NSW Government Health Order that we sign people in, so please come 15 minutes early so we can mark you off the list with your details. You will need to register via the form [HERE](https://lifeway.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/14/responses/new).
- Please use sanitiser as you come in. We will have a station available at each centre.
- We encourage you to bring a mask and wear one inside the building. No one loves them, but we ask you to please wear one for the sake of other people feeling safe. Our Pastors and helpers will wear masks for distributing Holy Communion, which will be done in the seats for the time being. We are trying to source some masks to have onsite for those who forget to bring one.
- There will be no public singing unfortunately as per government recommendations. You are able to hum along, but just focus on the words and let the band sing over you!
- We will limit touch by not serving coffee or tea at Epping. At Newcastle, we will have coffee and tea but it will be done around tables in the back hall with appropriate social distancing.
- There will be no handing around of the offering plate but we encourage you to continue to give via direct deposit or the App/Website as you have been doing. Please click on the link[here](https://lifeway.net.au/give) for details. There will be a plate at the door for those who have been unable to give directly – just drop it in.
Choose the safest worship experience for you. If you’re high-risk, we encourage you to continue attending online and staying in touch with our community through our zoom chat after each service.
Please remember that reopening and staying open is a team effort.
Whether you join us online or in person, we love you and we look forward to seeing you soon,
Pastor Mark, Pastor Mat and Adam Brownett
on behalf of the Leadership Team