Reopening for Worship

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Psalm 122:1
 
Dear members of Christ’s body at St. John’s Lutheran Church,
 
The time has come to begin gathering together once again. The challenge of putting together a plan for returning to worship, however, is complicated by constantly changing recommendations and guidelines from every direction. What first looked like a brief hiatus and a quick return now shows every likelihood of extending for months with a slow and gradual return to something resembling our life together prior to the threat of Covid-19.
 

While the governance of the church does not conduct itself in absolute obedience to the state, it also does not act in outright defiance of governing officials unless they specifically command Christians to transgress the Law of God. Therefore, I have taken the Illinois Governor’s 5-phase plan to reopen for business as a model for returning to public worship. This also provides a framework for our members to anticipate changes in public worship. While it is an imperfect solution, I have yet to find one that perfectly balances every need of every citizen. Together we will make our best effort to return to our spiritual lives while taking care to protect each other from infection.
 
Our framework for public worship will be:

Phase 1	Online worship only Sacrament of the Altar administered to individuals/families by appointment
Phases 2 & 3	Online Service of the Word continues Sacrament of the Altar distributed throughout the week at scheduled times; to help prepare and to keep services under 10, attendees will announce their intention to commune at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled service
Phase 4	In-person Services of the Word will be offered on Sundays at 8 & 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.; members are urged to take precautions to limit building occupancy to 50 Sacrament of the Altar will be distributed as in Phase 3
​Phase 5	Public worship returns to normal with some additional precautions

Where we are at right now
 
We are currently in Phase 2 and officials anticipate a move to Phase 3 beginning in June. Therefore, our scheduled services of Holy Communion will begin during the week of Pentecost (the first week of June).
 
Announcing for Holy Communion
 
The procedure for announcing your attendance for communion during Phases 2–4 will be to visit our website and fill out our online form:
 
www.stjohnschicago.org/communion
 
Or to call the church office during regular business hours:
 
773-736-1112
 
Throughout all phases of our return to public worship, we will observe the following precautions:

• If you feel sick, stay at home
• Frequent and thorough hand washing
• Disinfecting frequently contacted surfaces
• Face masks are encouraged when in closer proximity to others
• Monitoring temperatures for communion assistants
• Frequent washing and sanitizing of communion vessels
• Members of at-risk populations are encouraged to make use of services that are more lightly attended or to arrange for individual pastoral visits

 
With these procedures, we look forward to our full life together once again. We pray that the Lord would grant us a speedy deliverance and joy at our return to His house.
 
 
In Christ,
under the cross,

​Pastor Ehrhard