Corporate Worship Principles 9-10-21
Friends,
We are saddened by sicknesses and deaths with the recent rise of Covid-19 cases in Greenville. With these rising numbers of Covid-19 cases in Greenville, the elders thought it would be wise to re-visit some of our principles and share them with you as it relates to our worship together as a church.
1) We will continue to make masking optional for corporate worship.
2) We do not believe love of neighbor should be equated with one action for everyone. That is, we do not believe that masking is tantamount to loving our neighbors. Instead, we believe loving our neighbor could be considered by someone as masking as a precaution, but it ought not be equated with it. Put another way, it is misguided to say that someone who does not mask does not love their neighbor.
3) If someone believes that is it best to wear a mask for self and others, we encourage living according to that conviction. We would never want someone to sin against their conscience.
4) We will have a space dedicated to those who believe that it is best for them to worship with those who are all masked in the Office Suite. If parents decide to take their children to this space during the service, please honor this space as a mask-only space. And so you know, we have both units of our Sanctuary HVAC equipped with highly effective air purifiers (if interested go here and here).
5) If you feel ill at anytime, please do not come to worship in person. This is a clear way to love one another by erring on the side of caution and not spreading whatever you may have. We implicitly trust one another to be looking out for each other.
6) Regardless of opinions on this matter, there is no place for discouraging or disparaging talk for someone’s decision to live in accord with their conscience. We do encourage thoughtful and loving conversation with each other on this issue. This is a sign of Christian maturity—to live with those we disagree with and to seek understanding.
As always, we welcome and encourage anyone to reach out to us and discuss your thoughts on these guidelines. Of course, we may not see eye to eye on every jot and tittle, but we want to encourage such dialogue rather than talking about guidelines and motives without being able to talk through them.
Of course there are more nuances and words and defenses that could be offered, but we simply wanted to share the foundational principles for our decision to continue our public worship guidance with optional masks.
With great affection,
The Pastors of Christ the Redeemer