What to Expect at UBC Worship

We are pleased to be able to welcome you back into our facility at 39 Fayette Street for Sunday morning worship.

Of course, this does not mean that all danger is past. Nevertheless, the State of NH has deemed it reasonably safe for us to proceed if we employ certain precautions to safeguard the well-being of those participating and those with whom we have contact.

Therefore, please understand these services will not be like they were before the COVID-19 shutdown. Here are some guidelines to help you know what to expect should you decide to attend.

Should you come on Sunday Morning?

Some of you may want to come to church at 39 Fayette Street, but you probably shouldn’t – at least for a while. Here are some questions to help you decide.

Health Self-Assessment

Before you leave for church on Sunday morning, please ask yourself these questions about yourself and everyone in your household:

1. Have you been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19?
   
   
2. Have you had a fever or felt feverish in the last 72 hours?
   
   
3. Are you experiencing any respiratory symptoms including a runny nose, sore throat, cough, or shortness of breath?
   
   
4. Are you experiencing any new muscle aches or chills?
   
   
5. Have you experienced any new change in your sense of taste or smell?
   
   

If you answer YES to any of these questions, please stay home.

If you answer “I’m not sure,” or “Maybe, but it’s not that bad” or give any answer that is not a flat and unqualified NO, please stay home.

Personal Self-Assessment

In addition, please also consider the following:

1. Do you belong to any commonly acknowledged high-risk group?
   
   
2. Do you object for any reason to wearing a mask upon entering the building, and leaving the mask on as long as you are inside the building?

If you answer YES to either of these questions, please consider remaining at home.

Masks are Required

For the safety and well-being of all involved, we are requiring that those attend worship at UBC wear masks upon entering the building, and that you keep them on while in the building. The evidence that masks reduce risk of transmission is strong. Combined with spacing the risk reduction is significant.

Therefore, we ask everyone to take this precaution as a matter of caring for our neighbors.

If for any reason, you feel strongly that you should not wear a mask, the services are still available to you by the Zoom Platform. We are specifically offering both channels of access so that no one need be left out. If you are not already on our email list to receive the link, please email unbapch@comcast.net and request to be placed on our mailing list.

If you test positive

If you test positive for COVID-19, and you have been in UBC for worship in the last 14 days, it is imperative that you notify us immediately. This is simply a matter of public safety. We want to cooperate with the authorities to perform contact tracing to limit the spread of the disease. So please help us to take care of our neighbors in our wider community.

What to Expect when you Arrive

Before arrival, a team from Restoration Foursquare will have gone through the Sanctuary and the rest of the building applying a hospital grade disinfectant to common contact surfaces and chairs to reduce risk of transmission.

When you arrive, please enter the building through the front doors at the top of the wide granite steps.

The green door in the parking lot will be locked and used as an exit door only.

Disposable masks will be available at the door if you forgot to bring one.

There will be someone at the front door to direct you to your seats. Seats are arranged to effect safe distancing. Please choose a group of seats that matches the size of your family group, if possible. If there are no groupings of the right size, the ushers may help re-arrange seats.

Children will remain with their family groups throughout the service.

All inside doors will be open, so that you will not have to touch a door handle to pass from one room to another.

There will be hand sanitizer bottles stationed at each entry and exit point. Please use them upon entering and exiting.

What will the Service be Like?

Pastor Dave will stand on the chancel behind his Zoom Meeting station, with a camera, computer, speakers, microphone, and reading stand. He will conduct the service from there.

In essence, the service will be a Zoom service, but with some people present in the sanctuary, rather than ONLY by Zoom. The order of service, the slides, and the content will be very much the same as it has been.

The Zoom Screen will be broadcast to the TV screens so that people in the sanctuary can participate in the Zoom Meeting. We hope to have a camera pointing toward the sanctuary so that those in the building are also appearing on the Zoom screen. That way everyone is participating in both aspects of the service.

Pastor Dave will not be wearing a mask while leading the service, to better facilitate communication. By standing on the chancel, he will be at least 20 feet from the nearest worshiper. Fans will also be aimed at him to create airflow directed away from the worshipers. Since droplets are by far the predominant means of disease transmission for COVID-19, we believe the combination of distance and airflow should provide sufficient protection.

There will be no congregational singing, but you are encouraged to hum along with any music, and to respond verbally at the appropriate times.

Dress appropriately for summer weather in a building without air conditioning. Feel free to bring ice water, or a hand fan.

What to Expect after the Service

We ask all participants to exit the building immediately after the service. If you wish to socialize, please do it outside, as we know that being outside dramatically reduces the opportunity for virus transmission. We recommend continuing to use masks and distance to further reduce risk.

Please exit through the education wing door that leads out onto the parking lot. By having everyone move in the same direction, and maintaining safe spacing, we can reduce risk of transmission.
You will find offering plates at the exit door from the sanctuary. Please leave your offering in the plates as you exit.

Please use hand sanitizer as you leave. Bottles will be stationed at the doors.

After the service, a team of volunteers will apply hospital disinfectant to all common contact surfaces and chairs to reduce risk of transmission to NH Worship Church, when they follow us at 2:00.

What about Restrooms?

Restrooms will be available, but as single person use only. Signs will be on the doors to indicate occupancy (AVAILABLE / OCCUPIED). On entering and exiting please flip the signs to show the appropriate message.

If the sign says “OCCUPIED” please wait behind the marked line until the restroom is available.

Disinfecting wipes will be available inside the bathroom. Please wipe down every surface you touched including toilet seats, flush handles, stall doors, faucets, doors, and light switches.

Discard the wipe in the trash can provided outside the restroom doors.

Anything Else?

Yes. Please be as thoughtful, merciful, and forgiving as possible to the others who attend, to those in our sister congregations, and to the church leadership.

Although we tried to think of everything, it is quite possible that we may fail to anticipate some need, or that some systems may fail to do the job adequately. We appreciate your helpful feedback, as we very much want things to go well.

Please pray for those attending locally, for those attending online, and for those leading the services – that our Lord Jesus Christ will be honored and glorified through the worship that we give, and that his Holy Spirit would be at work shaping us into his image as we worship him.