Virtual Voices - 54th edition Virtual Voices The Video E-Newsletter of Mount Royal United Church for Friday June 18th 2021 Welcome to our fifty fourth edition of the Mount Royal United Church Video E-Newsletter. You will find the video at the bottom of this message. If you have any news items or information you think we should be including in an upcoming e-newsletter, please send your suggestion to newsletters@mountroyaluc.ca
we will do our very best to put it on for you. A quick reminder that our Sunday Service is live streamed from the sanctuary beginning at 10:30 AM and can also be watched later on the church website. The Prelude will begin at 10:15 AM with music and the announcement slides before the service begins
with Rev. Stuart. This video will be produced and sent out weekly on Friday morning with all the important things from our faith community. We plan to keep them short so you have time to drink a cup of tea or coffee while you watch. We hope you have a very good day today. Best Regards, Newsletter Committee Message from the Chair of Council - Susan Fowler This week at Church Council the decision was made to suspend pre-registration for Sunday in person attendance for worship. The thought expressed by some was that pre-registration has been acting as an impediment to people attending church. That was certainly never the intention and if that was the case, I apologize. I felt we made attendance for church as simple as possible. I'd like to take a few minutes to explain why pre-registration was originally implemented. In September 2020 when we were developing our Covid Operational plan for re-entry, we thought we would have more people wanting to attend worship in the sanctuary then the provincial regulations would permit. (To date, the only times we have been at or near capacity were Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday). We didn't want to turn anyone away at the door on a Sunday morning. We decided to set up pre-registration for a number of reasons: It would allow us to track who came one week and when we reached our government established capacity, we could have a way of knowing who should be offered the first opportunity the following week. Pre-registration ensured that Covid -19 symptom screening and collection of contact tracing information was done in advance of a registrant's arrival at the church. This allowed people to sanitize their hands and simply answer whether they had experienced any changes to their health since registration, have their name checked off the registration list and sanitize hands before heading to the sanctuary. It meant very little delay at arrival. Given that many folks arrive at Mt Royal in the last 10-15 minutes before the service begins, it avoided the possibility that people would have to remain outside in the cold, wet or heat until the government required symptom screening and contact tracing was completed for those ahead of them. With a small number of people offering to assist on Sunday mornings, pre-registration helped us to know whether we needed to ask 3 or as many as 6 of 7 people to volunteer to screen at the door or usher in the sanctuary. Government requirements have been monitored throughout Covid and adjustments made as required. Large numbers of attendees are not anticipated over the next 6 weeks. When church reopens in September after August vacation we will review the numbers of people coming to in person worship in conjunction with the GNB requirements in place at that time and make any necessary adjustments. Like every other organization, we are obliged to also ensure people sanitize their hands, wear masks and maintain 2 metre social distancing from anyone other than those in their personal bubbles. Volunteers are required to ensure Covid symptom screening is done and contact tracing information recorded. We need ushers to ensure social distancing is maintained. The pool of volunteers comfortable in returning for in person attendance at worship has, to date, been very small. If you would be willing to volunteer as a Covid screener/ contact tracing person or as an usher please email me at my address below. As always, details and the latest Province of NB Covid-19 information can be found at www.gnb.ca under Covid-19 alert levels. Please join us in person or online for this week's worship service. I would encourage you to arrive early to ensure no one is still outside when the service begins at 10:30. By the way, the service start time will remain at 10:30 throughout June and July with staff and volunteers enjoying a well - deserved rest during August. Rev. Stuart's message this week is entitled "Christ in the Stranger's Guise", a service inviting us to consider hospitality. June 20th is Indigenous People's Day of Prayer. I encourage you to take some time to inform yourself about Indigenous culture and values. As well, on Monday, June 21st, Rotary International District 7810 invites you to participate in a virtual event entitled "A Conversation about Truth and Reconciliation in Honor of National Indigenous Peoples Day". You can pre-register click here to participate on Monday at 6:30 PM. If you have any questions about worship pre-registration or any other matter at Mount Royal, please contact the church office at 506 855-5771 or me as indicated below. Wishing all the Father's and their families a Happy Father's Day. I trust you have had or will soon be scheduled for your second Covid vaccine. Stay well. Susan Fowler  |
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