This page will serve as a source of information for the plan of action by St Paul UMC Abilene in response to the recent novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak in our communities.
Reopening Information
Updated June 1, 2020 3:16 PM
Phase 1
June 7th @11:00 AM
In-Person Worship Service
Top 10 things you should know about our reopening and how it affects you:
1). When you arrive please remain in your cars until approximately 15 minutes before service (10:45 AM). Everyone will be escorted to seating according to your family size so there’s no rush to get in and grab your seat/pew. We will have a place sanitized and ready for you.
2). To help stop the spread of infection, we’re asking everyone to consider wearing a face mask. Infants and toddlers are not expected to wear a mask. If you have a health condition that makes it impossible for you to wear a face mask, we understand.
3). Common areas and gathering spaces of the building will be closed. We apologize, but that includes the coffee/donut bar and any other places where people might congregate.
4). Before each service, the sanctuary, seating, and all high-touch surfaces will be disinfected. We will only allow people in the area after that procedure is complete.
5). Hand sanitizing stations are set up throughout the building. We encourage their frequent use.
6). If you need to sneeze or cough, just like anywhere else, please cover your nose and mouth or sneeze or cough into your elbow
7). We will be continually wiping down surfaces in the restrooms and other high-touch surface areas to reduce the transmission of the virus.
8). We will not distribute any bulletins or other printed materials. Offering envelopes will be placed on your pew. After the service we will conduct a “follow the leader” style dismissal. You can then place your offering envelopes in baskets located at the exits. Any extra envelopes will be removed and destroyed.
9). Our greeters will be wearing masks and gloves. We will not shake hands, hug, or high-five. Instead, we will all air-hug, wave, and offer big smiles.
10). All other activities, other than the 11:00 AM worship service, will continue to be postponed in this first phase of reopening. This includes children’s ministry, youth ministry and Sunday school classes for all ages.
11). There will be signs placed throughout the building stating locations of sanitizing stations and other important information.
SPECIAL NOTICE
IF YOU CAN ANSWER “YES” TO ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS, PLEASE STAY HOME AND WORSHIP WITH US ON THE TV BROADCAST OR FB LIVE STREAM
* Been in close contact with a person confirmed to have COVID 19
*Feeling feverish or temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 F
*Cough, other than seasonal allergy related.
*Shortness of breath or difficult breathing
*Chills
* Muscle pain
*Headache, other than seasonal allergy related
*Sore Throat
*Loss of taste or smell
*Diarrhea
Please Note
Individuals aged 65 or older are at a higher risk, especially those with chronic lung disease, moderate to severe asthma, chronic heart & liver disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or weakened immune system.
PLEASE KNOW THAT WE LOVE YOU AND WE WANT YOU TO DO WHAT’S BEST & SAFE FOR YOU…
AND SO…
IF YOU NEED TO STAY HOME AND STAY SAFE…
STAY HOME!
Join us from home!
We are fortunate to have a committed, trained media team capable of sharing our worship services with those not present in the Sanctuary. You can always find us:
via Television
Our 11:00 am service is broadcast live every Sunday on KTXS. Look for “St. Paul Abilene” in your channel guide.
STAY WITH US if the feed is interrupted! We have been alerted to significant delays and signal loss by our streaming provider. They are working to remedy the situation as soon as possible. We will post a link to the broadcast archive later this evening for those who are unable to watch live.
via Watch.StPaul
Joining the online community is a great way to stay connected. Visit watch.stpaulabilene.org at 11 am on Sundays to see the live stream and chat with other online viewers.
via Facebook Live
No matter the Television broadcast situation, we regularly stream the service on our Facebook Page: St Paul Abilene. In the event you miss a service, you can also see previous services in our video archive.
via our myStPaul app
In addition to Television and Facebook, we also have our worship service live stream available in our myStPaul app for mobile devices and streaming boxes such as Roku and AppleTV. Previous Sermons are also in our media archive in the app.
Previous Response
After the first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the US, our staff made plans for different cleaning procedures. Beginning March 1, additional cleaning protocols have been in place for doors, tables, counters, bathrooms, etc. While handwashing with soap and warm water is preferred, we have additional hand-sanitizing stations around the building, including common entrance areas.
See this YouTube video for a quick guide on proper handwashing.
If you have a need, please contact us! We want to help!
Precautions
If you are feeling unwell or are in an at-risk demographic group, please consider staying away from crowds and large gatherings.
We are asking everyone who attends events at St Paul to greet with elbow- or foot-bumps to avoid hand-to-hand contact.