Coronavirus Church Update

Times:

StudyGroups have returned to 9AM

Worship Service has returned to only at 10:30AM

Livestream for worship is available on our website, Youtube, and Facebook

What follows are the updates to the church from the elders.

Dear Church Family,

Update 5/5/2021

We are so excited at NLCC to share that we will resume all children’s Sunday School classes, youth classes and all adult StudyGroups on June 6 at 9 a.m. We will be going back to ONE worship service at 10:30 a.m. with Jr. Church at that time in the family life center. Need some help finding the right StudyGroup for you or your children? Call the church office at 332-2675 and we will help. Communion will still be available for you to pick up on your way into worship, as well as boxes to deposit your offering. We look forward to worshipping with you!

Update 1/8/2021

FYI: Due to the unusually high number of county COVID-19 cases and In an effort to be a ”good neighbor” and cooperate with schools and a number of community churches, NLCC will be going to a live stream worship service only for the next two weeks (1/10 and 1/17/21). All in-person worship services and other church related activities will be postponed and rescheduled until a later date. Watch for details or contact your ministry team leader for those details.
Again, in an effort to protect our church family and community at large, we will be canceling all in-person worship services for two weeks. BUT we will still we be offering a live stream service at 10:30 AM. Regular in-person worship services will resume January 24, 2021.
As leadership we understand the need and desire of those wanting to meet in-person and we share that desire. It is only reluctantly and prayerfully that we do this temporarily. However, we want you to understand that our ministry staff will continue to be available to personally serve you. PLEASE call us and we would be glad to assist you in your ministry needs or answer your questions.
On Behalf of the Elders,
Mark

Update 6/24/2020

Greetings Church Family! On behalf of the church leadership, I would like to update you on changes that will be happening during our Sunday worship services beginning Sunday, July 5, 2020. During the 10:30 service, we will be offering a nursery service for ages 1-3. Also, during the 10:30 service, we will be offering a children’s church service for age 4 through grade 6. These changes are for the 10:30 service only. The 8:45 service will continue as is, with family units worshipping together in the worship center. If you should have any questions please contact the church office or Margie Lomison.

These changes come in addition to June’s changes which included the return of ministry team meetings, neighborhood group meetings at hosts and members’ discretion, and some outside approved youth activities.

As for StudyGroups and others in building groups, the back on track date is still to be determined as leadership continues to monitor the situation.

We thank you for your patience and understanding and look forward to seeing you all soon.

On Behalf of the Eldership,

Mark

Update 5/4/2020 12:00PM

We will be offering two Sunday morning worship services beginning this Sunday, May 10. One service will be at 8:45 a.m. and one service at 10:30 a.m. While the unstaffed parent/child room will still be available, no other nursery, child, youth or adult ministry will be provided at this time. All Zoom StudyGroups will continue to meet as Zoom groups. If you know that you are coming, please call Jenny in the church office Monday-Thursday 9-11 a.m. to let us know which service you plan to attend so we can manage the spacing and number as best as we can. You may also communicate through this Facebook group or Facebook page. We also will continue to offer an NLCC Worship Live service at 10:30 a.m. via Livestream for those who will worship with us at home. The following guidelines are also those of the State of Indiana and CDC for Faith Organizations:

• It is recommended that those who are over 65 years of age or who have at-risk health conditions to stay at home and worship via NLCC Worship Live.
• To ensure a safe social distancing of 6 feet between individuals or family units, seating will be every other row, and we request 3 empty seats between family units or unrelated individuals.
• The building has been sanitized, carpets cleaned, surfaces wiped down, and areas will be sanitized between services.
• Hand sanitizers will be placed in high-contact locations (entry, restrooms, exits) and we ask all staff, members, and guests to sanitize their hands when entering the building.
• It is recommended that you wear a face-covering before entering the building. Again, you should proceed with understanding some will and some will not.
• It is recommended, and we as ask, if you or a member of your family are symptomatic or have tested positive for Covid-19, to stay home and worship via NLCC Worship Live.
• We recommend no contact greetings.
• We will not be printing bulletins, so bring your own materials if you are a note-taker.
• Communion emblems and a tithe/offering basket will be located on tables as you enter the worship center.
• We will be using a separate entry and exit strategy for both services during which we ask you to maintain safe distancing. Entry and Exit will be through the North doors for the 8:45 service and the West doors during the 10:30 service.
• We ask that you vacate fairly quickly after the service to allow staff and volunteers to sanitize areas before the next service.

We know these are challenging times and we all have a strong longing for warmer greetings and for all to be more normal again, but as Christ Followers, we always want to be the example rather than the exception. So, let us persevere in this challenge by loving others, even while we love and worship our Lord. The NLCC Elders

Update 3/14/2020 7:00PM

New update for our church family:
After a meeting with fellow church leaders from the Henry County area and at the advice of the county health and emergency representatives we have decided to cancel services tomorrow and for the following two weeks. This is to provide a three week social distance period, which in reality provides two fourteen-day periods. Again this not out of fear, but out of love for our family and community who are at greater risk (9,000 in the county). It is also our hope that it will assist in reducing the number of people needing assistance from our medical personnel,

A sermon will be posted tomorrow morning. We encourage everyone to listen to it, it has a message in it that applies to our times, as well as a challenge for all.

Again, this is not being done out of fear, but out of a sense of serving our community and church family.
We will be in touch often on this page and on the church’s website often with messages, ideas for you and your family at home, and updates on a number of things. As stated in our original post, the church staff will be working and are available to your ministry needs.

Sorry for such late notice, but we transition as we receive the latest information. Special apologies to the dozens of volunteers that stood ready to make tomorrow a great day. Tomorrow’s events will be rescheduled. Stay tuned for more on that and other information regarding the children’s and youth space. It’s not new that faith road trips with God have twists and turns. None of us saw this one coming, but the Lord did and his plans are never thwarted!

For now our primary concern is how we can help serve our brothers and sisters. Not just in our church family, but in our communities.

Tune in to the sermon tomorrow morning, there is a word in it for all of us.
On behalf of the elders,
Mark

Update 3/14/2020 5:00PM

This is an update to our previous posting concerning services this Sunday. We still plan to have services and the launch party. And we still ask that if you or a family member have any symptoms of being ill, you stay home. But in addition to these precautions we encourage all “ at risk individuals” to stay home, especially the elderly, those with respiratory conditions, anyone with a compromised immune system and the very young. In other words this is the church leadership giving you permission to stay home. While all are free to make their own decisions, we want to be most considerate of those individuals most at risk.

This advisory is not meant to cause fear, it is only meant to repeat what medical experts have been advising in the media and locally through the health department which we failed to make in previous post.

Thank you.
On behalf of the elders,
Mark

Update 3/13/20 7:30AM

After consulting with individuals who were at a county meeting with our county health representatives and after consulting with numerous health professionals, we believe the following is the best “common sense” response.

Because there are no confirmed cases in Henry and Wayne Co. and it is up to organizations less than 250 to make their own closing decisions, we plan to have our normal weekly services and programming with a few changes (I’ll explain later). However, in the spirit of “obeying our government officials” and being loving towards those most at risk, we are preparing to cooperate with community schools and organizations for a two-week close, for a time of “social distancing”.

During that time, when it comes, we encourage our church family to do family devotions, participate in the Lord’s Supper, and we will provide lessons and/or sermons on the church’s web page or the church’s Facebook page (Deut. 6:4-9).

As for the changes in service, we will have hand sanitizer available at our guest ministry stations in both foyers. Please feel to use it, but please don’t take it. If you are looking for seats that are not so crowded, sit up front there are usually plenty of seats there. Rather than hand passing offering plates and communion trays, we will have offering plates and communion trays on tables in the front and back of the worship center. The bread will be placed in its own cup, placed in the trays under cups of juice. Therefore, trays will be filled with double cups. We also encourage individuals to not shake hands and of course stay at home if you’re not feeling well.

Most importantly, let us remember whether gathered together or socially distanced, we in Christ do not have a spirit of fear, but a Spirit of love, joy, peace and long-suffering for others. Perhaps it is for times such as these, that God has placed us where we are!

We are very much looking forward to worshipping with you this Lord’s Day as well as celebrating with you in the activities to follow (hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes will be available at Armory)!!
On behalf of the elders,
Mark