Church Update // March 12, 2020

Dear Hope Bible Church Family,
As concerns surrounding the Coronavirus (Covid-19) increase, we want to communicate how we as a church are looking at this and planning for it.

This week the virus has officially been declared a pandemic and this week the first positive cases in Halton were announced.

We’re looking to Halton Public Health as our local authority on the current status and suggest you utilize their site to stay informed. Despite the recently reported case in Burlington, Halton Public Health still deems the risk low for Halton residents.

Our church staff are carefully monitoring events on a daily basis and seeking to apply appropriate steps in response to local conditions. Thankfully we have a wealth of expertise from within the congregation as well as several external resources that we are utilizing in order to be best prepared in the days ahead.

As of this email, we still plan to gather for our regular church services this Sunday, March 15. Although, since the situation is continuing to change rapidly, we are making contingency plans for a potential online service. Check our website for the most up to date information. Some precautions have already taken place and more may be noticed this Sunday including:

Weekend Precautions

Facility

  • Additional hand sanitizer stations around the building (including on your way in)
  • You may notice door handles being wiped down between services as a precaution
  • Signage in washrooms promoting handwashing

Welcome Team

  • You’ll be greeted with a friendly wave and smile but not a handshake

Hope Kids

  • Kids classrooms are regularly wiped down and hand sanitizer is available as children enter the classroom
  • Toys and surfaces are disinfected between services
  • Kiosks cleaned throughout the day on Sunday

Cafe

  • For the next two weeks the cafe services will be closed

Worship Service

  • You may have noticed that there has not been a moment in the service when we greet each other, we’ll continue to refrain from that for now
  • Offering will be taken while exiting services by ushers in Hope volunteer t-shirts