Dear St. Mark friends,
Recently, our region entered back into Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan, which allows us to gather in groups of up to 50 people. Because of this, I am excited to announce that limited in-person worship will resume next month. We will start small and expand our efforts as needed.
Starting on February 7th, our 9:30am live service will be able to host up to 40 worshippers in the congregation. We will have pre-registration and assigned seats for those who are registered. We will also continue to follow the small group guidelines we have had since July, which call for signing a waiver, wearing a mask, and staying six feet away from others. If there is enough demand, additional Sunday services will be added in March.
Lent is just around the corner, and we will also be able to have in-person mid-week services. One Ash Wednesday service will be held in the Sanctuary at noon on February 17th. Just like Sundays, it will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel, and a recording will be available for at-home participation any time afterward.
The following Wednesday, the first of our five mid-week services will be held in the Fellowship Hall at 6:45pm, and a recording will be made available the following morning. During these services of Lenten reflection, we will consider Five Miraculous Moments in the Gospel of Mark, a series of stories that we wouldn’t otherwise hear on Sunday mornings this year. These will be prayerful, spoken-word services.
Registration for all worship services in February will be available through the St. Mark website, www.stmarklc.com, beginning on Monday, February 1st.
Finally, whatever our indoor worship is looking like this spring, plan on having festive, outdoor, drive-in worship on Palm Sunday (3/28), Easter Sunday (4/4), and St. Mark Sunday (4/25)! St. Mark Sunday, by the way, will be a celebration of our 60th anniversary as a congregation.
As has been the case all along, these plans are subject to change. This pandemic has kept us all on our toes, and we will keep you notified if cancelations occur, and when more worship opportunities become available. I cannot wait to step ever so gently back into worship together with you in the next few months. Stay safe, stay connected, and stay hopeful!
Peace,
Pastor Chad McKenna
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