COVID-19 Protocol Updates

Throughout the COVD-19 pandemic, Central has followed the advice of public health officials and medical experts. Following the new guidelines from the CDC and DHEC, Central activities are now mask-optional for people who are fully vaccinated. Please remember that people who are not fully vaccinated are still at risk for contracting COVID-19 and it is recommended that unvaccinated people continue to wear facemasks. Regardless of your vaccination status, please follow your personal healthcare provider’s recommendations. In the new situation, two big questions remain.

First, what about children and youth? Vaccinations have recently been approved for those over the age of 12, but younger children have not yet had the opportunity to receive vaccines. Schools in our community are now mask optional regardless of vaccination status. Following the practice of the schools Central’s students attend, we will leave individual decisions regarding COVID-19 precautions to individual families. This includes letting parents decide whether their children will wear facemasks in ministry settings.

Second, what about singing? Early in the pandemic we learned about the potential harm caused by congregational singing, even when masked. We are in the process of researching what the new guidelines mean for congregational singing. Hymn singing will be back as soon as we are certain of how to safely sing.

We are once again walking a road that no one has yet traveled. Please be patient as we together discern the best ways to proceed. I ask your continued prayers that God lead us in our mission to follow Jesus by loving God and loving our neighbors.

Yours in Christ,

Thomas

Tidings from Thomas - May 14, 2021

Dear Friends,

You are no doubt aware of the exciting news from the Centers for Disease Control about changing COVID-19.  Yesterday the CDC announced that people who are vaccinated can safely go without face coverings and no longer need to worry about social distancing.  This is exciting news! 

We are in the process of evaluating how this change will affect Central.  Throughout the pandemic, Central has followed the advice of experts and medical professionals.  Change is coming, but we need more input from the experts before we can say exactly what that change will be. 

One change we can safely make, given the new guidance from the CDC, is to say people who have been vaccinated can safely gather indoors without masks and social distancing.  As such, effective this coming Sunday, worship will be mask optional.  Please keep in mind that if you are unvaccinated or have certain underlying medical conditions, masks are still recommended.  Please consult your healthcare provider about what is safest for you.

Further changes will be announced once we have had time to gather and evaluate input from local experts.  Please keep an eye on your email boxes and social media feeds for updates over the next few days.  Continuing with current guidelines until we can make informed decisions is one way we can live into our mission to follow Jesus by loving God and loving our neighbors.  You, the people of Central, are to be commended for your faithfulness throughout the pandemic.  You have ensured that Central is a safe place for worship, fellowship, and service.  We are near the end.  Please be patient us as we make decisions in the days to come.  Most importantly, I ask your prayers for Central that we proceed in a way that honors God and keeps us true to our mission.

Yours in Christ,

Thomas

Anticipation of Easter

With Easter only days away, I am experiencing the great anticipation that always precedes the annual celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Last Easter, we were a couple of weeks into a time of fear and anxiety. Much of our everyday lives had been put on hold, including the ability to gather in-person as a church. The pandemic is not over. We are still mindful of loved ones who have lost their lives. We are still having to do things in new ways so that people are protected. But so much has changed in a year! We will gather in-person on Easter to celebrate the good news that Christ has risen. And because Christ has risen, we know that death does not have the final word and God’s love conquers all.

There are some differences you will notice on Sunday from recent weeks. One of the biggest things you will notice is the absence of ropes blocking off certain pews, allowing for a greater number of people in worship. Even though the ropes will be gone, please continue to exercise social distancing. We will also resume passing offering plates to gather tithes and offerings. These changes are based in new guidelines from the South Carolina Conference of the UMC. In keeping with medical advice, we will continue to ask people to wear face masks. Our continuing to wear masks allows us to expand the number of people in worship spaces.

We will also celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion on Easter indoors for both The Sanctuary and The Well. When you arrive for worship, you will receive one of the single use Communion cups we have been using in recent months. When the time comes to receive the bread and juice, you will take the Communion elements in your seats. I really look forward to celebrating Communion indoors!

Following Conference guidelines, we will not yet have congregational singing. We have been blessed to have excellent music since resuming in-person worship, but we all look forward to being able to sing hymns again. Even with everyone in masks, we would need to be more spread out to safely sing as a congregation. For example, Florence School District One is spacing singers twelve feet apart. This kind of spacing would drastically reduce the number of people we could safely have in worship spaces. Rest assured – as soon as we can have congregational singing, we will.

On a related note, our mid-week prayer and Communion service will be resuming in-person worship on April 14th. Please note this service is moving from Thursdays to Wednesdays. I am excited to resume this weekly worship service!

COVID-19 is still with us, but I feel like we are seeing light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Easter reminds us that Jesus’ victory over the grave means that the power of death and sin has been broken. In the face of pandemics and whatever awfulness the world brings, Jesus offers hope. Christian hope is not the wishing of an optimists, the but the assurance that Jesus promises to bring us through hard times. Jesus promises to ultimately bring us to a resurrection like his. We need to hear that word of hope. Whether you worship in-person or by livestream, let us gather on Easter Sunday morning to hear the good news that Christ is risen! These words from 1 Peter 1:3 come to mind.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Yours in Christ,

Thomas

Tidings from Thomas - Easter Sunday Registration

Dear Friends,

The annual celebration of Jesus’ resurrection is just around the corner.  When Easter arrives, we will gather and celebrate the good news that Christ has risen from the grave and broken the power of sin and death. 

We will have four worship opportunities on Easter Sunday. 

Our first worship service will be a sunrise service outdoors around the porte-cochere at 7:30 AM on Easter morning.  Since this is an outdoor service, there is no need to register in advance.  However, I would suggest bringing a chair.  Be sure to check the weather before leaving home.  Early spring mornings can be cold.

We will also have The Well and both Sanctuary services at their normal times.  So that we can ensure safe occupancy levels and maintain necessary COVID-19 precautions, we are asking people to register in advance for these three services.  Please help spread this information – people must register in advance to attend Easter worship in The Well and the Sanctuary.  This is the only way we can safely celebrate Easter.  You can register directly through Realm, by visiting centralmethodist.net/easter-sunday-registration or calling Shay Justice in the church office at (843) 662-3218 x 122. An email and Facebook post will be made on Monday with the registration links as well.

If you need to cancel your registration before Easter, please do so as soon as possible.  Registration will begin at 8:00 AM on Monday, March 22nd and will close at 5:00 PM on Thursday, April 1st.  As on other Sundays the 9:00 AM Sanctuary service will be live on the radio at 97.1 FM and The Well and 11:15 AM Sanctuary service will be live-streamed.  Overflow seating will also be available.

As is our tradition on Easter, we will celebrate Holy Communion.  I am happy to report that the three indoor services will celebrate Communion indoors!  We will still use prepackaged elements and receive the elements in our pews, but this is a move in the right direction. 

I look forward to celebrating the good news of the risen Christ with you!

Your is in Christ,

Thomas W. Smith

Easter Worship

Dear Friends,

Last Sunday I preached about knowing when to change direction, both literally and metaphorically.  As we continue to approach Easter, I believe there is a need to change direction.  In short, on Easter Sunday morning we will have in-person worship with an expanded schedule.  We will have an outdoor sunrise service at 7:30 alongside The Well at 9:00 and Sanctuary services at 9:00 and 11:15. The Well and the 11:15 Sanctuary services will be live-streamed. 

When we first began planning for Lent and Easter, I was concerned that larger Easter attendance would make for an unsafe environment.  I also wanted people to be able to make plans well in advance.  However, the tide of COVID has continued to turn.  We still must take precautions, but we will safely gather for in-person worship.

We will continue to take the precautions we have had in place since resuming in-person worship.  But there is one more precaution we must take if we are to safely celebrate Easter in-person.  Namely, we will ask people to register in advance for the indoor services to ensure we maintain a safe occupancy level.  There will not be a registration process for the outdoor sunrise service. 

Registration will begin on March 22nd.  You will be able to register yourself through Realm or by contacting the church office.  We will share details of the registration process as the registration period draws closer. 

As our church family journeys through the weeks to come, I ask two things of you.  First, please be patient as we continue through this season.  Our ministry leaders are working hard to restore a sense of normalcy while balancing the continued need for safety.  Second, please continue to keep our church in your prayers.  I believe the end is in sight and Central is poised to do big things for the Kingdom of God.

It is a continued blessing to be in ministry with you and I look forward to walking with you into the next season of our life together as church.

Yours in Christ,

Thomas W. Smith