In-person worship will resume at Trinity on Sunday, March 7.

In-person worship will resume at Trinity on Sunday, March 7. When worship resumes, some things will be different. Continue reading for how worship at Trinity will look different as we come back together.

• Every other pew will be closed and social distancing should be followed.  Please check out https://www.sfcdcp.org/communicable-disease/healthy-habits/how-to-put-on-and-remove-a-face-mask/ for how to properly and effectively wear a mask.  Wearing a mask or gloves improperly is not only ineffective but can even create a false sense of security.
  • In our gospels, Jesus tells us that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mt. 19:19; Mt. 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27) and to even be willing to lay down our lives for one another (see John 15:12-14).  The apostle Paul writes: “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4) and that, in doing so, we model the behaviors and mindset of Christ.
    As time passes, research reveals that the two most effective actions in preventing the spread of COVID are social distancing and wearing a mask.  Research also continues to reveal that many people are asymptomatic carriers of the infection and that, while it may not cause illness in them, it could prove fatal if they unknowingly pass it to someone with a weakened immune system or underlying medical condition.
    Therefore, Trinity will require masks for all who attend Sunday morning worship. 
  • If you are uncomfortable in a mask throughout the service, you may enter and exit the building masked and be seated in the balcony on either wing above the chancel (it will be marked as maskless seating) and remove your mask once you reach your seat.  If you are uncomfortable wearing a mask as you enter and exit the building, please continue to avail yourself of online options.
    
• Some parts of worship will be different. When worship resumes, some things will be different.  We will not have congregational singing, only special music.  Coffee service, nursery, and Sunday School will not immediately resume.  We will not pass the offering plate.  There will not be bulletins.  Plates will be at the back and front of the sanctuary for you to deposit your offering.  Online giving is recommended for those who are able to contribute in this way.  If you can manage stairs, please consider sitting in the balcony as this will allow for better social distancing on the main level of the sanctuary.
• The weekly sermon and music will continue to be available on the website. Since we request the elderly and immune-compromised not attend in-person worship, we will continue to provide the weekly sermon and music via the website.  Also, the current Sunday morning Zoom group will be bumped to 9:30 a.m. in order to maintain the opportunity to connect digitally with one another each Sunday morning.
• Children's Worship is available by advance sign-up only. In order to continue to keep everyone safe, children’s worship is available by advanced sign-up only. Please sign-up to participate in children's worship. Please note that children's worship is only available for children ages 5and up. There are two small activity tables loacted at the back of the sanctuary. These tables are for children not yet old enough for children’s worship, or any child who may not want to attend children’s worship but needs some space to create and move around during the service. Chairs for adults are located near the tables so that you can sit by your child. Also, at the back of the sanctuary near the tables are activity bags with crayons, coloring pages, blank paper, and a few other quiet toys. 
• The Fellowship Hall Area will be Locked on Sunday Mornings. For a church to be successful in evangelism, space for children and children’s programming must be as safe as possible.  Pre-COVID, Trinity’s Trustee chair, Pastor Tracey and two Law Enforcement Professionals met to evaluate Trinity’s children’s ministry space.  As Trinity member and West Lafayette Officer Chris Jewell reminds us, as hard as it is to think about, today we must recognize that “it is not a matter of if, but when, violence will occur in a church.” An important step we can take toward improved safety is to lock-down our Children’s Ministry space during worship.  Therefore, a new door has been installed in the church basement leading into Fellowship Hall in the southeast corner (bottom of the stairs leading down from the narthex).  Locks have also been installed on the doors already existing in the two west hallways.  This, however, obstructs entry to the men’s room during worship.  Therefore, a lock has also been installed on the women’s restroom at the foot of the stairs to transform this into a unisex restroom during the worship hour.  Although the worship service is a short period of time, we recognize individuals may need to access restroom facilities so this modification allows an accessible, secure, unisex restroom.  Like the unisex restroom on the sanctuary level near the kitchenette, please remember to lock the door when you enter the restroom during the worship hour.