Effective this Friday, May 28, 2021, the state of New Jersey will enact an executive order stating that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks or physically distance in most indoor or outdoor settings.
Last night, our church council met to discuss our church mask mandate and social distancing policy. We’ve followed state and CDC guidelines up to this point, and that’s what we’ll be doing now as well. Beginning this weekend, masks are optional in worship and adult programs.
We know that some of you are not yet comfortable in public without masks, and some have yet to be vaccinated, so while masks are optional, we still encourage people to wear their masks. Our pastor and staff will continue to wear masks when interacting with worshippers and serving communion. I will continue to wear my mask while leading worship except when preaching and singing with the praise team. Most meetings will continue to take place online, and when they are held in person, we will offer an online option and make every effort to ensure that everyone is included.
We thank all of you for your continued support of our ministry and the challenging decisions we have had to make as we navigate the pandemic. We ask that you continue to keep our ministry in your prayers, that we can continue to reach out and engage the non- and nominally religious in the life saving grace of Jesus the Christ. We look forward to gathering with you in person and online.