As of earlier this month, all services and activities at Zarahemla have resumed as normal. As we have throughout the Coronavirus situation, we encourage the following precautions:
We still have plenty of space in the pews; if you feel more comfortable following social distancing while at church, we encourage you to do so.
As always, we will continue to watch the circumstances carefully and prayerfully. May the Lord grant you peace, health, and safety.
In light of the current Stay-at-Home order, and especially as the number of cases of the illness in the Kansas City area continues growing, we believe it is necessary to make some adjustments to our response to the situation.
At this time, we ARE continuing to hold Sunday Morning worship services. However, we would remind all members of the Zarahemla family of the following guidance that we sent out previously:
Additionally, we have plenty of space in the pews and our numbers will be small. We recommend "social distancing"-- that is, to spread out through the sanctuary. Since symptoms of the illness do not appear until several days after contracting it, we believe that it is in wisdom to create distance. We would also encourage avoiding shaking hands, hugging, and other forms of contact.
Evening services for tomorrow (3/29/20) are cancelled. Please use this time to gather in your homes for devotions, prayer, study, and worship.
Wednesday evening services for this coming week are currently still expected to go on.
We have made the difficult decision to not serve communion this coming week (4/5/20). That hard decision to make, but we believe it is prudent-- it is not possible to follow "social distancing" while serving communion. We will have a regular preaching service.
As always, we will continue to watch the circumstances carefully and prayerfully. May the Lord grant you peace, health, and safety during these tenuous times.
We are aware of the recent updates from Jackson County that will start a Stay-At-Home order starting Tuesday, March 24th. We are currently awaiting full details from the county regarding the exact details of what types of meetings are allowed. After the county's press conference at 1pm today, we will be making considerations as to the path forward.
Thank you for your patience in these changing times. We encourage you to always remember that God will always provide a way for His will to be done, even when times become difficult.
After the recent Jackson County order prohibiting gatherings larger than 10 people, we have worked to determine options for continuing to hold services while also obeying the law. We have spoken with individuals from both the Missouri legislature and Jackson County legislature and have learned that the county's order is addressing social activities and that worship services are still permitted, although discouraged.
In light of that update, here is our plan moving forward and our recommendations for members:
As always, Sunday Morning worship services are available live on Facebook at https://facebook.com/zarahemlabranch and on Ustream at https://video.ibm.com/channel/zarahemla-branch.
Starting this Sunday (3/22/20), you can tune in to listen to services over the phone without internet access. This will be available on Sunday mornings from 10:20-11:30 AM.
Thank you for your patience these next few weeks as we sort out issues and get used to this new system.
We feel comfortable right now with these decisions and recommendations largely because the case count in the KC area is still quite low. Wisdom is always to be exercised, so we will continue to watch, consider, discuss, and pray concerning our response to this difficult situation. We hope and pray that we can continue to provide an opportunity to worship throughout this crisis.
It is a time to be faithful and not fearful. Please continue to look after one another and trust in the Lord to see us through. Needs may arise during this time; we want to help in any way we can.