Pickering Village United Church
RE-OPENING PLAN
PARKING
Parking will start in the South Parking lot until full.
Congregants can park wherever they like but to be aware of social distancing while heading for the main entrance.
Those needing assistance into the building are asked to stop under the overhang, wait for an Usher before disembarking from their vehicle. This will allow for social distancing to be maintained. We ask that all participants be respectful of those needing this assistance to ensure proper entry into the building.
Remember masks for all in your party. They will be available if you require them.
ENTRY & REGISTRATION
Only the main entrance will be open for entry.
Only the Main Floor of the building will be open. Tape and/or signs will be installed prior to each service indicating “off limit” doors and rooms. This includes inside doors leading to off-limit areas such as the lounge, and the outside of exterior doors. All entry and exit will be via the main front doors. In a fire emergency, all rooms and doors will be available for prompt emergency exiting.
Congregants are to line up from the main entrance along the sidewalk towards the south parking lot. Markings will be placed on the sidewalk to ensure social distancing is maintained.
As noted above those requiring assistance will be allowed to enter the building as needed.
Please note that coat racks will not be used (worshippers will be required to take all coats/hats/etc. with them to their assigned “pew pod”).
Ushers will be there to assist all to enter the building.
Before entry into the building you will be asked four screening questions:
- Do you have a fever?
- Are you suffering from a new or worsening cough or exhibiting any other symptoms?
- Have you been in contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID 19 or with COVID 19 symptoms?
- Have you travelled outside Canada in the last 14 days?
If you have answered yes to any of these question’s, then you will not be allowed into the building to attend service. You will instead be directed to enjoy the service via the web site at your convenience later in the day.
If you have answered no to all questions then an Usher will direct you to the registration table, where you can sanitize your hands and register.
There will be an Usher to register all congregants entering the building for worship and assign your “pew pod”. This will allow for tracking in case there is a reported instance of COVID (by someone who was in attendance) at later date. Registration information will include the following:
Name
Address
Phone Number
Pew Assigned
(For members who are listed in the Directory only Name and Pew Assigned will be required as all other information is available)
Once registered the group or individual will be escorted into the sanctuary by an Usher to their seat.
No one will be allowed to enter the sanctuary until the group or individual before them has been seated.
Tables will be placed outside the sanctuary doors on either side, so that parishioners can place their offering either before or after service.
ENTRY TO THE SANCTUARY
All worshipers will be seated by the Sanctuary Ushers in the “pew pod” assigned to them at the Narthex registration table. Registration table Usher will inform the group and Sanctuary Usher of the assigned “pew pod”. Only one group at a time will be escorted by each Sanctuary Usher. Worshipers waiting to be seated will line up in the narthex, with appropriate distancing. Sanctuary Ushers will be masked and will social distance from worshipers.
Sanctuary Ushers will have “pew pod” maps to assist them in seating worshipers.
DURING WORSHIP SERVICE
Sanctuary Ushers will monitor worshipers throughout the service to aid in compliance with social distancing. Ushers will assist with washroom access. Disinfecting towelettes will be available in the washroom for individual use. A garbage can will be available outside the washroom to dispose of used towelettes.
WORSHIP SERVICE
Hymn books, bibles, brochures, and other items will be removed from the pews.
No order of service will be provided, everything will be on the screens.
There will be no processing. The ministers and music director will enter the sanctuary from the front via choir room.
Once the Ministers are in place, they will remove their masks. Per the current guidelines there is enough distance between the Pulpit/Lectern and the first row of congregants for proper social distancing.
At present, there will be no congregational singing. There may be an opportunity for a soloist or a duet. Worship Committee, working with the ministers and Music Director, will be looking at ways to creatively replace or present music or other creative medium (i.e. pre-recorded music from choir members or others, poetry, art, YouTube clips, playing percussion instruments, body prayers) during the service.
There will be no sacraments in the sanctuary during worship service, but communion can\will be offered via Zoom. Baptism, if absolutely necessary, can be offered only for those affiliated with PVUC. At this time, it is suggested it be a separate service with a limited number of immediate family only with congregational commitment via Zoom.
Announcement by the worship leader(s), at the start of worship, of protocols to be followed during worship, including:
– mask usage policy while seated in pews
– singing protocol
– fire alarm response
– leaving the sanctuary mid-worship
– washroom access
Announcement by worship leader(s), prior to the benediction, of protocols to be followed on leaving the sanctuary, including:
– sequence of exiting
– greeting by ministers in the narthex
– no lingering in the narthex, but immediate exit through the front doors
After the service, the ministers will don their masks, leave the sanctuary via the front, go through the choir room and the lounge, and stand behind the tables at the sanctuary door to be able to greet members of the congregation as they exit the sanctuary from the appropriate social distance.
EXITING THE SANCTUARY
Sanctuary Ushers will direct worshipers in individual “pew pods” to exit sequentially, beginning with those closest to the back of the sanctuary. Social distancing will be maintained, and masks will be worn.
The registration desk Usher will monitor worshipers as they exit the sanctuary, ensuring worshipers leave the building immediately and do not linger in the narthex. The Usher will assist the ministers, as needed, in preventing bottlenecks from developing as the ministers greet exiting worshipers.
The greeting Usher will monitor worshipers outside as they exit the building, to ensure distancing is maintained outside (masking not required outside).
At this time there will be no coffee hour and all socializing should be done outside the building with proper social distancing being maintained.
RESOURCES NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT THIS PROCESS:
Minimum of 5 Ushers (Head supervising Usher, plus outside greeter, registration desk Usher and two sanctuary Ushers).
Registration table in the narthex or front entry, with needed supplies (masks, hand sanitizer, screening question sheets, registration logbook for possible contact tracking, paper slips to write down assigned “pew pod” codes, and a “pew pod” map to keep track of what pods have been assigned. Plexiglass shield will also be required.
Pew markings, showing the boundaries of each “pew pod”, and a unique pod code label/sign.
Communications Team support (in the days before worship) to clearly communicate expectations of worshipers’ conduct, prior to arrival at Sunday worship.
Announcement by the worship leader(s), both at the start of the service and immediately prior to the benediction, of the protocols for followed.
OTHER NOTES REGARDING WORSHIP SERVICES:
We will continue to tape the regular service during the week, and it will be posted to the network on Sunday around 10:30 am. This will allow those who are more comfortable not entering the Church building to enjoy the regular worship service. The in-Church service held on Sunday in the building will be a “Chapel” style service.