Dear Edgeboro Family & Friends,

Over the last four-plus months of this pandemic, I’ve had weekly online Zoom (video) calls with my in-laws. Each Saturday, we all take turns checking in with each person to see how they’re doing and what’s going on. I’ve noticed that the longer we’ve been doing this, the more likely it is that at least one of us will have a week when really nothing noteworthy happened at all. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s only so much you can report when you’ve been staying at home so much!

The same was kind of true for the church for a while. Until last month, we didn’t quite have enough to fill a newsletter. But now, we can look forward to some new things.

One of the newest things to look forward to is this: Edgeboro will resume worship services on Sundays at 6:30pm, outside on church property, beginning on August 9th. (Update: Beginning Sept. 13, worship time was changed to 10:00am.)

Many of you received a survey recently about this. The Joint Board is grateful for the time and attention the congregation gave to this survey. An impressive total of 86 responses was recorded which represented 200 individuals in the congregation. About 75% of the responses indicated they were “Likely” or “Very Likely” to attend an outdoor worship service on church property. Upon reviewing these responses in detail at their last meeting, the Joint Board decided to go ahead and set a date and time to begin outdoor worship services.

If you choose to attend these outdoor worship services, please remember:

• As you would in other public places, please wear a mask.
• Please practice physical distancing before, during, and after worship.
• If you have a fever or are not feeling well, or if you have been exposed to COVID-19 in the past 14 days, we ask that you refrain from attending worship in person.
• We encourage you to bring your own chairs if possible. We will have folding chairs on hand for those who need them.
• The parking lot will be closed to vehicles. The lot will be reserved for additional seating space. Please consider leaving closer street parking spots for those who might need it.
• We will have a sound system and microphones which will be used by worship leaders.
• Hand sanitizer will be available.
• Please be prepared to sign-in each time you attend worship.
• There will be no bulletins to hand out.
• Offering will not be collected, but it can be placed in the church mailbox.
• There will be no congregational singing and limited responses to liturgies and prayers. As a result, these services may be shorter than usual.
• With the exception of emergencies, we ask that you do not enter the building.
• Please dress comfortably and bring what you need to be outside. We are choosing to worship in the evening to avoid the most intense sun and heat of the day and to avoid the need to put up any kind of tent.
• These worship services are weather permitting. Please check the weather before coming to worship. Online forms of communication will be used to immediately communicate worship cancelations. (Unfortunately, the church’s “phone blast” calling service does not call everyone immediately nor all at the same time. Therefore this cannot be used to communicate news of an immediate cancelation in a timely manner.

Please know that if you choose not to attend worship in-person for health and safety reasons, the Joint Board supports your decision and hopes that you find opportunities to worship from home. (Online services and Worship By Phone services will continue to be offered each Sunday morning.)

As we look forward to the new things beginning at Edgeboro, please continue praying for Christ’s church as we move forward together in the midst of a pandemic, and continue praying for one another in these continued times of physical distancing.

Sending Christ’s Love & Grace,
Pastor Dan