Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We received additional information from our stake leaders about our return to weekly church meetings. We are excited to share these plans with you.
First, weekly sacrament meetings will resume at 9:00 am beginning next Sunday, September 27th. We invite members and families who are able to gather in-person to join us at this time. Our ward will only hold one sacrament meeting per week, with a maximum attendance of 150. We will still follow the recommended guidelines that have been in place for the last three months. These include:
- Cleaning and sanitizing pews and high touch areas in the building before each meeting.
- Maintaining a 6 foot social distance when seated near those who are not part of your family. Family members are welcome to sit next to each other.
- Following signs indicating which rows are available for use to ensure appropriate spacing. Overflow seating will be available in the cultural hall to accommodate additional members attending each week.
- Maintaining social distancing from others while entering, exiting, and moving about the building.
- Wearing protective masks. Masks may be removed once you are seated in the chapel so long as social distancing guidelines are followed.
- Using hand sanitizer is encouraged and dispensers will be available.
- Entering and exiting the building through the south and west doors of the stake center. The east and north doors will continue to be locked. Please do not congregate in the hallways, foyers, or parking lots before or after the meeting.
- Priesthood brethren are trained to safely prepare and pass the sacrament.
- Hymnbooks and printed programs will not be available. Please bring your own digital hymnbook.
- In addition to gathering for sacrament meeting in-person, we will broadcast that meeting each week for members and families who are at high risk, not feeling well, or uncomfortable attending. These broadcasts will be presented live online, and will not be recorded to view later. More information on joining these online broadcasts will be sent out later this week.
The sacrament meeting format will be changed slightly to allow for the sacrament to be administered both at the chapel and at the homes of members worshipping remotely. Opening and closing musical numbers and prayers will be offered, and one to two speakers (or member testimonies on Fast Sunday) will occur from 9:00 to 9:30 am. As this portion of the meeting concludes, the broadcast will end and members attending at the chapel will have a sacrament hymn followed by the administration of the sacrament. Following the sacrament, the meeting will end. Likewise, families participating from home are encouraged to administer the sacrament immediately after the broadcast concludes. Members should be finished with both the meeting and sacrament by 9:45 am.
In addition to weekly sacrament meetings, classes for youth and adult organizations and quorums will be held remotely beginning Sunday, October 11. The classes will follow the established schedule as announced in General Conference in October 2018. Youth and adult Sunday School classes will be held the first and third Sundays of each month. Young Women, Aaronic Priesthood, Relief Society, and Elders Quorum classes will be held on the second and fourth Sundays. Additional information and instruction about the time and accessibility of these classes will be announced in the next couple of weeks.
We are excited about these changes and look forward to safely returning to gather again on a weekly basis as a ward family. We love you and continue to pray for your physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being. Please feel free to reach out to a member of the bishopric if you have any additional questions or concerns.
Westbrook 5th Ward Bishopric
