July 5 was the first in-person worship service at Fleetwood CRC in Surrey, BC. We allowed 49 people in the sanctuary. They had to pre-register on our app, wear a mask if they sing, sit in the designated pews, sanitize their hands at the door and at the pew, only wave or nod to each other at the passing of the peace, practice physical distancing and exit through the back doors. Members can register for two services a month. We are allowing for 5 walk-ups per service so that we can still practice hospitality. It went well, but I think people were a bit reluctant to be the first ones to sign up (sort of like how no one wants to be the first to go up to get food at a potluck), so we had some seats left over. We have a lot more signed up for this week. It's a communion service so we will ask people to either take their own elements or take the prepared elements that will be on a table in the lobby.
Starting this week we are changing the way we take the offering. Deacons will be stationed at the exits with offering plates and people can give their offerings as they leave the sanctuary. It won't be forever, but during this outbreak we want to be as safe as possible.
In Classis BCSE, the pastors have been having Zoom meetings every two weeks. We check in with each other and share our stories with each other. We share our church questions (ie, how to do baptisms, communion, etc) as well as how we handle these challenges in church life. It's been a blessing to be together in this way. We really only see each other at Classis meetings, but these Zoom meetings have helped us get to know each other better and share our lives together. And of course, we pray for each other. We have covenanted to keeping these meetings to one hour and so far we have.
This is what we sent to our congregation on March 4th. We will follow up this week with more information. We are putting together a Task Force who will keep on top of this matter for our Council.
Memorandum To: Members of Fleetwood Christian Reformed Church From: Council Date: March 4, 2020 RE: COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Precautions
Fleetwood Christian Reformed Church Council is monitoring the developments surrounding the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). To date we have not put any restrictions on any church activities, worship services or celebration of the Lord’s Supper. We will continue to monitor the situation and will advise according to the recommendations of Fraser Health Authority and the BC Centre for Disease Control.
For now, we will continue to follow the best practices accepted for the cold and flu season and we encourage you to exercise vigilance and discretion as you participate in church activities. Distributing the elements of the Lord’s Supper will continue as usual but we may adjust this, if necessary, to help prevent the transmission of germs from one communicant to the other. During worship we will encourage to forgo our customary handshake greeting and suggest instead a smile, maybe with a wave, and a heartfelt, "Good morning! Peace be with you." We do remind you to be vigilant about handwashing and encourage you to use the hand sanitizer available at the entryways. Those who are experiencing flu-like symptoms please remain at home and participate in the worship services via livestreaming until are fully recovered.
At this time, most of us have little immediate risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19. Yet many of us may be worried about the disease. Fear and anxiety around this disease could lead to social stigma towards certain ethnicities, and in the broader community there may have initially been some misplaced stigma and discrimination toward the Asian population or nationalities where this disease appears to have originated. In recent weeks this has become a global disease and it is now more obvious to assist in fighting these stigmas and be the gracious, supportive Christ-followers that the Holy Spirit is growing us to be. Let us reveal our Christian love in the way we respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
For more information on COVID-19, go to: https://www.fraserhealth.ca/health-topics-a-to-z/coronavirus/coronavirus-questions-general-public#.Xl1uHh9KiCg http://www.bccdc.ca/about/news-stories/stories/2020/information-on-novel-coronavirus
For further clarification please contact the office at [email protected].
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. XXXX Chair of Council
Withholding oneself from the means of grace is a sign of significant spiritual conflict. I would encourage the elders to help that person resolve this spiritual conflict first. As an elder this person will be responsible for the serving of communion and it does not fit with the office if this person would not participate in the sacrament as an office bearer.
I concur with the last comment by Jason DeVries. It's time to get the Church Visitors involved in this matter. A church council can't just dismiss a pastor on its own. Classis and the Synodical Deputies have to concur with the decision. You can find the relevant information about release from ministry in Article 17 of the Church Order and about Church Visitors in Article 42 at https://www.crcna.org/sites/default/files/church_order_2016.pdf. Councils tend to think they can hire and fire pastors as they wish, but it's not that easy within our denominational covenant. It looks to me that in this situation our denominational checks and balances will bring some healthy accountability. Call the Stated Clerk of your Classis, find out who the Church Visitors are for your congregation, call them and discuss this matter with them. I'm sad for you and your congregation that it had to go this way. God bless you.
answer: in recognition of the public good they and their congregations perform. If it weren't for pastors and churches helping the poor and needy, where would society be? Who speaks at the senior's homes, has an open door for anyone from the community, listens to people in trouble, prays at the veterans memorial service, performs funerals for anyone who asks? A pastor. They perform a valuable social service usually at no cost and society recognizes this by giving them a tax break. It is not ridiculous at all.
We recently bought a pager system for our congregation. It works great. It's just like the system at Ikea. The parent signs the child in, gets a pager, the child enters the nursery and the parent goes to worship. We have a "no change" policy in our nursery, so whenever a diaper needs changing, we just page the parent. Only the parent with the pager gets the kid after the service. And if they don't come soon enough after the service, we just set it on "Taser" and they come right away:)
Fleetwood CRC in Surrey, BC is working on one. We have an initial draft and are fine tuning it before we present it to Council. Church Juice was very helpful.
We are hosting a Halloween Fun Night on Halloween. Our church members create and host games for the kids in the church lobby. There are about 15 games for the kids ranging from tossing a ring onto a pumpkin to walking a plank to a treasure chest to a version of whack-a-mole. The kids love it. We have coffee and goodies for the parents. Everyone dresses up they way they want, but we discourage the more macabre elements of Halloween. We used to do a Trunk and Treat in the parking lot, but this is Vancouver and more often than not it rains. We stopped it one year because we couldn't pull it together, and we heard back from the community that they were disappointed that we didn't have it. So for that past two years we have had the Fun Night inside and it's worked well. We have flyers for our kids club and invitations to our church. We see it as a way to provide a safe, dry, fun service to our community.
Every other year a nearby public school uses our sanctuary for their Christmas concert. Their gym doesn't work so well for them and they prefer a stage. It's fun to see our neighbours and their children in our building having a fun time. We offer the space free of charge as a way to be a good neighbour at a festive time.
Our deacons also provide Christmas hampers for another local public school. Our neighbourhood is changing and there are more people living in basement suites. Some of them have financial burdens and we are able to help them have a blessed Christmas. This year one of our small groups that meets in the neighbourhood near the school will assemble and deliver the hampers to the school as a service project.
The four Advent evening services consist of a family oriented film night (with popcorn), a Taize service (a quiet break from busyness), a children's service (singing, story and craft) and a service of lessons and carols (ending in candle lighting).
Every year we wonder whether to sing "Ere Zij God" in the Christmas service. Should we stay true to our Dutch immigrant background or should we move on? We asked our 20-something youth elder what to do and as a result we're singing it again this year. We sing songs in Swahili and Latin so why not Dutch once a year? Apparently it's more beloved than the Christmas remake of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."
On Christmas dau we also light the disco ball that's in our sanctuary. We bought it for a space-themed VBS one year and have kept it up. It helps us blow the lid off in praise of our incarnate King.
Posted in: Where Is Your Church at in the Physical Reopening Process?
July 5 was the first in-person worship service at Fleetwood CRC in Surrey, BC. We allowed 49 people in the sanctuary. They had to pre-register on our app, wear a mask if they sing, sit in the designated pews, sanitize their hands at the door and at the pew, only wave or nod to each other at the passing of the peace, practice physical distancing and exit through the back doors. Members can register for two services a month. We are allowing for 5 walk-ups per service so that we can still practice hospitality. It went well, but I think people were a bit reluctant to be the first ones to sign up (sort of like how no one wants to be the first to go up to get food at a potluck), so we had some seats left over. We have a lot more signed up for this week. It's a communion service so we will ask people to either take their own elements or take the prepared elements that will be on a table in the lobby.
Posted in: COVID-19 Guidance?
Starting this week we are changing the way we take the offering. Deacons will be stationed at the exits with offering plates and people can give their offerings as they leave the sanctuary. It won't be forever, but during this outbreak we want to be as safe as possible.
Posted in: How Are Pastors Coping Without Connection of Weekly Preaching?
In Classis BCSE, the pastors have been having Zoom meetings every two weeks. We check in with each other and share our stories with each other. We share our church questions (ie, how to do baptisms, communion, etc) as well as how we handle these challenges in church life. It's been a blessing to be together in this way. We really only see each other at Classis meetings, but these Zoom meetings have helped us get to know each other better and share our lives together. And of course, we pray for each other. We have covenanted to keeping these meetings to one hour and so far we have.
Posted in: COVID-19 Guidance?
This is what we sent to our congregation on March 4th. We will follow up this week with more information. We are putting together a Task Force who will keep on top of this matter for our Council.
Memorandum To: Members of Fleetwood Christian Reformed Church
From: Council Date: March 4, 2020
RE: COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Precautions
Fleetwood Christian Reformed Church Council is monitoring the developments surrounding the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). To date we have not put any restrictions on any church activities, worship services or celebration of the Lord’s Supper. We will continue to monitor the situation and will advise according to the recommendations of Fraser Health Authority and the BC Centre for Disease Control.
For now, we will continue to follow the best practices accepted for the cold and flu season and we encourage you to exercise vigilance and discretion as you participate in church activities. Distributing the elements of the Lord’s Supper will continue as usual but we may adjust this, if necessary, to help prevent the transmission of germs from one communicant to the other. During worship we will encourage to forgo our customary handshake greeting and suggest instead a smile, maybe with a wave, and a heartfelt, "Good morning! Peace be with you." We do remind you to be vigilant about handwashing and encourage you to use the hand sanitizer available at the entryways. Those who are experiencing flu-like symptoms please remain at home and participate in the worship services via livestreaming until are fully recovered.
At this time, most of us have little immediate risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19. Yet many of us may be worried about the disease. Fear and anxiety around this disease could lead to social stigma towards certain ethnicities, and in the broader community there may have initially been some misplaced stigma and discrimination toward the Asian population or nationalities where this disease appears to have originated. In recent weeks this has become a global disease and it is now more obvious to assist in fighting these stigmas and be the gracious, supportive Christ-followers that the Holy Spirit is growing us to be. Let us reveal our Christian love in the way we respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
For more information on COVID-19, go to: https://www.fraserhealth.ca/health-topics-a-to-z/coronavirus/coronavirus-questions-general-public#.Xl1uHh9KiCg
http://www.bccdc.ca/about/news-stories/stories/2020/information-on-novel-coronavirus
For further clarification please contact the office at [email protected].
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
XXXX
Chair of Council
Posted in: Eligibility Question for Elder Nominee
Withholding oneself from the means of grace is a sign of significant spiritual conflict. I would encourage the elders to help that person resolve this spiritual conflict first. As an elder this person will be responsible for the serving of communion and it does not fit with the office if this person would not participate in the sacrament as an office bearer.
Posted in: Church Elders Have Voted to Dismiss Our Pastor, What Can Be Done to Reject Their Decision?
I concur with the last comment by Jason DeVries. It's time to get the Church Visitors involved in this matter. A church council can't just dismiss a pastor on its own. Classis and the Synodical Deputies have to concur with the decision. You can find the relevant information about release from ministry in Article 17 of the Church Order and about Church Visitors in Article 42 at https://www.crcna.org/sites/default/files/church_order_2016.pdf. Councils tend to think they can hire and fire pastors as they wish, but it's not that easy within our denominational covenant. It looks to me that in this situation our denominational checks and balances will bring some healthy accountability. Call the Stated Clerk of your Classis, find out who the Church Visitors are for your congregation, call them and discuss this matter with them. I'm sad for you and your congregation that it had to go this way. God bless you.
Posted in: Why Clergy Should Get Some Kind of Special Entitlement for Housing?
answer: in recognition of the public good they and their congregations perform. If it weren't for pastors and churches helping the poor and needy, where would society be? Who speaks at the senior's homes, has an open door for anyone from the community, listens to people in trouble, prays at the veterans memorial service, performs funerals for anyone who asks? A pastor. They perform a valuable social service usually at no cost and society recognizes this by giving them a tax break. It is not ridiculous at all.
Posted in: What sign-in procedures are effective for the church nursery?
We recently bought a pager system for our congregation. It works great. It's just like the system at Ikea. The parent signs the child in, gets a pager, the child enters the nursery and the parent goes to worship. We have a "no change" policy in our nursery, so whenever a diaper needs changing, we just page the parent. Only the parent with the pager gets the kid after the service. And if they don't come soon enough after the service, we just set it on "Taser" and they come right away:)
Posted in: Share Your Sermon Series
We're doing a series on experiencing the Holy Spirit this summer. What is God up to during this pandemic and how can we keep in step with the Spirit?
Posted in: Does Your Church Have a Communication Strategy?
Fleetwood CRC in Surrey, BC is working on one. We have an initial draft and are fine tuning it before we present it to Council. Church Juice was very helpful.
Posted in: What Does Your Church Do With Halloween?
We are hosting a Halloween Fun Night on Halloween. Our church members create and host games for the kids in the church lobby. There are about 15 games for the kids ranging from tossing a ring onto a pumpkin to walking a plank to a treasure chest to a version of whack-a-mole. The kids love it. We have coffee and goodies for the parents. Everyone dresses up they way they want, but we discourage the more macabre elements of Halloween. We used to do a Trunk and Treat in the parking lot, but this is Vancouver and more often than not it rains. We stopped it one year because we couldn't pull it together, and we heard back from the community that they were disappointed that we didn't have it. So for that past two years we have had the Fun Night inside and it's worked well. We have flyers for our kids club and invitations to our church. We see it as a way to provide a safe, dry, fun service to our community.
Posted in: What Does Christmas and Community Look Like at Your Church?
Every other year a nearby public school uses our sanctuary for their Christmas concert. Their gym doesn't work so well for them and they prefer a stage. It's fun to see our neighbours and their children in our building having a fun time. We offer the space free of charge as a way to be a good neighbour at a festive time.
Our deacons also provide Christmas hampers for another local public school. Our neighbourhood is changing and there are more people living in basement suites. Some of them have financial burdens and we are able to help them have a blessed Christmas. This year one of our small groups that meets in the neighbourhood near the school will assemble and deliver the hampers to the school as a service project.
The four Advent evening services consist of a family oriented film night (with popcorn), a Taize service (a quiet break from busyness), a children's service (singing, story and craft) and a service of lessons and carols (ending in candle lighting).
Every year we wonder whether to sing "Ere Zij God" in the Christmas service. Should we stay true to our Dutch immigrant background or should we move on? We asked our 20-something youth elder what to do and as a result we're singing it again this year. We sing songs in Swahili and Latin so why not Dutch once a year? Apparently it's more beloved than the Christmas remake of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."
On Christmas dau we also light the disco ball that's in our sanctuary. We bought it for a space-themed VBS one year and have kept it up. It helps us blow the lid off in praise of our incarnate King.