We are a hearty bunch here in Minne-snowta!! Even as our outdoor worship gets chillier, we are up for braving it. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.  Worshiping outside has been a really fun and holy
experiment that we have truly enjoyed (and might even do next summer with or without COVID concerns). However, as the weather turns toward what we have come to expect in Minnesota we all know that our comfortable “outside time” will be faced with the challenges that late fall and winter bring, namely…snow and cold.
 
After much conversation with many people in differing (professional) places about how and when to transition back into the sanctuary for in-person worship we are planning on worshipping back in the sanctuary on Nov 1 for All Saints Sunday. We are planning this move with great caution for both our and your safety…really!
We are proceeding with utmost caution and will re-open in the safest way possible. If anyone is uncomfortable with any of the following guidelines, or chooses not to follow them, we ask you to please consider protecting the congregation by worshiping at home as we will continue live streaming our worship services. Also, if you are in an at-risk category (and for your own safety) please join us via our live streaming of the service. Our goal as a congregation is to protect each other from contacting COVID-19. We need to be willing to take precautions to protect ourselves, each other and the community. If anyone, or someone you live with, has had within the past two (2) weeks any signs of cough, fever, shortness of breath, chills, signs or symptoms of the flu, change in or loss of taste or smell, a pending or positive COVID-19 test, please stay at home and join us online for worship.
Outlined below are the in-sanctuary precautions we will be taking in our efforts for worship safety:
 
· To allow for the spacing we feel will give us the greatest level of safety in our sanctuary, we will be limiting the number of in-person worshipers with a reservation system that will offer both online and call in
options. More details on this will be available as we approach the opening date. Please know that we will be holding to this limited number rigorously, so please plan ahead!
· Please practice social distancing upon arrival. The sidewalks as well as the floors in the building will be marked to provide guidance.
· Ushers will meet you at the front door. Entering & exiting the building will be limited to door A. Coats stay with you. There will be signs and guidance for clarity.
· Face masks need to be worn properly at all times while in the church building. We encourage you to bring your own mask, but masks will be provided at the front entrance for those who do not have one.  
· Ushers will direct seating. Please sit only with members of your immediate household. Spacing of 6 ft. will be maintained with signs and markings on the pews. And remember that you may not get to sit in your
favorite spot…we can do this people!
· Hand sanitizer will be available at the front entrance. Please use it before entering further.
· The offering plate will be located at back of the sanctuary as you leave
· To limit items being touched, all Bibles, hymnals, forms, and pencils have been removed from the pews.   
· The bulletin will be available as usual online. We will have a limited number of preprinted ones available.
· There will be no communal singing or responsive/out loud readings
· There will be no nursery or in-sanctuary “kid’s PRATground” area available. Families are encouraged to bring quiet toys (no busy-bags will be available) with them and remain together as a family during the      service.
· We will be distributing our prepackaged single-serve Communion cups outside before you enter the
building.
· The restrooms will be available. Please maintain a safe distance and wash your hands after use.
· Ushers will dismiss you by pews to exit.
 Worshiping on-site is a decision you and your family will need to prayerfully make. Some of you will decide to return to the sanctuary for worship, and some of you will choose to remain at home for worship (live streaming will continue). Either way you choose, God is still speaking among us. Be well and know that you are greatly loved!

In God’s Peace, Your Shepherd Staff 
Pr. Renee, Jilene, Pr. Brice, Joe, Sr. Tashina, Miranda, and Michelle 

​The more things change the more they stay the same…
We (at church here) can’t be the only ones feeling all the feels that go with this actuality. We certainly feel like we are living it at Shepherd. What we mean by this is we are in a new way of being church, but the things that we love about being our church community have not changed….meaning that we simply want to be together in new and creative (and safe) ways.
 
So here’s what’s new at Shepherd as we all make our way in this new way of being church:
 
Our worship: HELLO Parking Lot Worship!! This new model is giving us the opportunity to be together in our cars, or sitting in front of our cars or even sitting on the lawn. You can listen on your car radio at 88.9 FM or simply listen to our (very efficient) loudspeaker system. We have one service at 9:00 am and even celebrate Holy Communion each week. Communion supplies are offered as you drive into our parking lot and then one of our many parking lot ushers will guide you to a parking spot. We have gratefully seen some visitors during our Parking Lot Worship experiment! We are even beginning our “Coffee and Donuts Time” after church on the lawn. It is BYOE (bring your own everything) but this will be another opportunity for us to gather safely.
 
Our building: The summer weather in Minnesota is (usually) delightful and we are taking full advantage of this time to be together in small groups outside whenever we can make that happen. Whether on our deck out back (the garden is beautiful!), on our lawn or at Island Lake Park, we know that we do not need a building to gather as the Body of Christ.
 
We will remain grateful for the opportunity to gather in any way that we can. All of this is to say that we will also continue to ask the question of when we, as the people of Shepherd of the Hills, feel comfortable moving back into our building in a fuller manner. We want to hear your voice! To do that, another survey has already been sent out (the last one was sent out on May 28) and we will let you know what we are collectively thinking/feeling about all of this.

As we have been saying all along, the church is not closed and never has been. We have been worshiping, doing Bible study, teaching our youth and our preschoolers, doing pastoral care, conducting church business and connecting through virtual gatherings in all sorts of different ways since this pandemic came to visit in March. And we will do all of those things in-person again…when we are ready. In the meantime we will explore new ways where we can be
together and all feel safe and comfortable doing so.

In God’s Peace, Your Shepherd Staff Pr. Renee, Jilene, Pr. Brice, Joe, Sr. Tashina, Miranda and Michelle 
 

​Are We There yet??

Isn’t that the question we are all asking? Are we there yet? I mean in regards to this being over so that we can just be together again. But it appears that we are a long way from this “being over” which then means we need to figure out what works for us, as a community, as we step back into our togetherness.

The survey we sent out got a resounding response rate, as many of you weighed in on how comfortable you felt in this new way of being together. Your voices reflected that 70% of you are feeling uncomfortable with worshiping inside right now but 86% of you are feeling ok with worshiping outside. Hence the birth of our current Parking Lot Worship experiment!

We just had our second week of our new Parking Lot Worship and it feels amazing to actually see your faces! If you haven’t tried it yet, join us at 9:00am each Sunday. Our motto is “come as you are and worship in your car….or in a chair…or on the lawn.” Just come!

We also know that this worshiping model is only temporary, as colder temps will be visiting us again soon enough. So we will be revisiting our survey in a couple of weeks to see how you are all feeling about moving back into our sanctuary. Stay tuned!

We are also slowly reopening our building with some summer office hours, and reconvening our committee meetings and taking advantage of our ability to gather outdoors as much as possible. Bible studies will be held at Island Lake Park on Wednesdays beginning July 1. We will be at the park at 1:00pm and on Zoom at 6:30. Join us there at 1:00pm with a chair or blanket or on zoom at 6:30pm as we talk about God’s Word for us together.

As we have been saying all along, the church is not closed and never has been. We have been worshiping, doing Bible study, teaching our youth and our preschoolers, doing pastoral care, conducting church business and connecting through virtual gatherings in all sorts of different ways since this pandemic came to visit in March. And we will do all of those things in-person again…when we are ready. In the meantime we will
explore new ways where we can be together and all feel safe and comfortable doing so.