TIER 1
Starting May 2, we will hold one service at 11:00 in the Sanctuary with a limit of 50 people. This service will be live streamed. A pre-recorded service will be broadcast at 9:00.
TIER 2
Two in-person services will be held:
- 9:00 am in the Cokesbury Center with a limit of 20 people.
- 11:00 am in Sanctuary with a limit of 50 people. This service will be livestreamed.
- A modified pre-recorded service will be broadcast on Sunday mornings well.
TIER 3
We will increase the attendance capacity of both services.
- 9:00 am in the Cokesbury Center with a limit of 30 people.
- 11:00 am in Sanctuary with a limit of 75 people. Both services will be livestreamed.
- A modified pre-recorded service will be broadcast on Sunday mornings well.
TIER 4
We will increase capacity in both spaces along with a possible addition of Sunday school/small group meetings.
TIER 5
We will incorporate childcare during services as well as in-person youth and children’s activities.
All phases will follow the following protocols:
- Services will be 45-50 minutes.
- Reservations must be made in advance. This can be done online (fumclr.org/reservations/) or by phone.
- Attendees will sit sections spaced 6 feet apart. Only members of one household will be allowed to share a section.
- Masks must be worn at all times by all people.
- Distances must be maintained (no handshakes, hugging, crowding, etc).
- Attendees will sign in and have their temperature taken before entering the meeting space.
- Attendees will be directed to their pre-assigned seats
- Attendees will be ushered out from the back to front.
- Communion will only be served via Drive Thru and pre-assembled communion kits will be handed out to in person attendees as they leave.
- Until Phase 5, childcare will not be available.
- No food or drink will be served. Water fountains will not be available.
Funerals/Weddings
- Capacity will be determined by the phases above.
- Services must be 45-50 minutes total.
- Attendees will sit sections spaced 6’ apart. Only households will be allowed to share a section.
- Masks must be worn at all times by all people (This includes wedding parties. The bride and groom can be unmasked if they are positioned at least 6’ from anyone else).
- Participants will be asked not to sing even if masked.
- Distances must be maintained (no handshakes, hugging, crowding).
- Attendees will sign in and have their temperature taken. Anyone with a temperature over 100 degrees will not be allowed to enter.
- If attendees answer “yes” to any of the three questions asked at check-in (see below), they will not be allowed to enter the building.
- Attendees will be ushered to their seats, filling the sanctuary from the front to back.
- Attendees will be ushered out from the back to front.
- Volunteers will be utilized for special services, including weddings, to help with check in and ushering.
Weekly Procedures
Registration
- Attendees must make reservations to attend weekly worship services.
- Registration will open at 6:00 pm on the Sunday prior to a service.
- Registration will be closed when all spots are filled.
- Registration may happen through an online portal or by calling the church office (the phone will be answered between 6 pm and 8:30 pm on Sundays and 8:30 to 4:30 during the week).
- Six spots will be held for families scheduling baptisms.
- After making reservations, every household will be given an assigned seat.
- A copy of the seating chart and sign in list will be kept on file for 3 weeks after the service in case an attendee tests positive for COVID-19. The list will be used to contact attendees in close proximity.
- We ask anyone who has been on-campus and either tests positive or has close contact with someone who tests positive to notify the church immediately. These are to be reported to our Office Manager, Sara Williams (501-372-2256). We will also report cases to the Arkansas Department of Health as required. Notification for exposure will be handled on a case-by-case basis based on recommendations from the Arkansas Department of Health.
Seating
In order to follow guidance of the Center for Disease Control as closely as possible while also maximizing our seating capacity, we will use the following guidelines for seating:
- A household with any non-vaccinated or partially vaccinated people must be seated in a section alone (e.g., A family with vaccinated parents and unvaccinated children cannot share a seating section with anyone else.)
- Two fully vaccinated households may share a seating section (e.g., Two single fully vaccinated people or two fully vaccinated couples may share a seating section). This is limited to two households only.
- Multi-generational families in which all the adults are fully vaccinated may share a seating section (e.g., Grandparents may sit with their children and grandchildren if all the adults are fully vaccinated). This is limited to two households only.
***In order to share seating sections, you MUST make your reservations together. We will not assign seating sections to multiple households unless they have made reservations together. Also, seating decisions cannot change at the service. It may only be done through the reservation process (i.e., Once you arrive, you cannot see someone you want to sit with and change seats even if you have both been fully vaccinated). Therefore, if you are willing to share a section with others, following guidelines above, please communicate with the people you want to sit with and make your reservations together.***
Check-In Process
- Volunteers Needed: 3 (As capacity increases, we may increase to 4 volunteers per service.)
- Volunteers will arrive 30 minutes before the service starts.
Set Up:
- Doors to sanctuary will be propped open to reduce commonly touched items or spaces.
- Two card tables and chairs will be set up on both sides of outside sanctuary stairs (left side (north) check-in will have elevator access)
- Attendees will not go up the stairs or elevator until they have checked in.
- Extra masks, hand sanitizer, thermometers, and registration lists will be placed at both check-in tables.
- If someone does not have a mask, they will be given one at the check in station.
- A sign will be placed on the check in table with the following questions printed on it:
Are you or someone in your household currently experiencing symptoms of COVID-19?
2. Have you or someone you live with tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 2 weeks?
3. Are you or someone in your household currently under quarantine for exposure to COVID-19 or waiting on results from a COVID-19 test? - Restrooms should be used by one person or family at a time.
- A small table with disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer will be placed in the elevators.
- In case of rain, pop up tents will be put up above the check in stations and extra umbrellas will be passed out to those in line who need one.
Ushering Process
Volunteers Needed: 4 people stationed in the Narthex and at the 7th street door of Cokesbury.
- Volunteers will arrive 30 minutes before the service starts.
- Prior to the service, ushers will be given instructions how to seat people. Each usher will be provided a map and seating chart list.
- If someone is not wearing their masks properly, the ushers will kindly ask them to adjust their mask to cover both the mouth and nose.
Seating before the service:
- Ushers will point households to their seating section but will not escort them to their seats. This will decrease crowding in the aisles.
- A sign with the name of the household will be placed in the pews.
- There will be a section reserved for those in wheelchairs in the balcony.
- Attendees will be directed to the restrooms on the 1st floor in History Hall during services in the sanctuary and the restrooms in the gym for services in Cokesbury Center. Everyone will be asked to make sure the aisle and pathways are clear when coming and going from the restrooms.
Exiting at the end of the Service:
- All doors will be propped open at the end of the service by the ushers.
- Working from the back to the front, ushers will stand at each pew and indicate to attendees when they may leave. In the sanctuary, the ushers will use the 2 interior aisles.
- Ushers will make sure each household has cleared the back doorway before letting another section depart.
- Pastors and staff will not have a “receiving line” following services.
- In case of an emergency, people will be asked to leave by the nearest exit.
First Tradition - 11:00 am
- Attendees will be allowed to enter the building 20 minutes before the service starts.
- 6’ markers will be placed along both sides of the sidewalk to space the check in lines.
- Attendees can check in at the stations on either side of the stairs (The left side (north) check in station will have access to the elevator)
- One person will work each check-in table.
- One greeter will be stationed on the ground level between each station to welcome attendees and direct to the lines for checking in.
- Each attendee will have their temperature taken before entering. If their temperature is above 100 degrees, they will not be allowed to enter the building.
- Each attendee will read the questions on the sign on the table (see above). If they answer “yes” to any of the three questions, they will not be allowed to enter the building.
- After checking in, one household will be allowed in at a time.
- An usher will greet attendees at the top of the stairs and as they exit the elevator.
First Word - 9:00 am
- Attendees will be allowed to enter the building 20 minutes before the service starts.
- The main entrance will be the 7th street door.
- There will be one check in table with supplies and one person working.
- 6’ markers will be placed along the sidewalk to space the check in lines.
- One greeter will be stationed on the corner directing attendees to the entrance.
- Each attendee will have their temperature taken before entering. If their temperature is above 100 degrees, they will not be allowed to enter the building.
- Each attendee will read the questions on the sign on the table (see above). If they answer “yes” to any of the three questions, they will not be allowed to enter the building.
- Households will be allowed to enter the building one at a time.
- Attendees may leave by two different doors; either through the back door to the hallway and the foyer or through the 7th street doors.
Conducting Worship
- Services will be 45-50 minutes long.
- All hymnals, Bibles, envelopes, and brochures have been removed from the worship spaces.
- A bulletin with the order of worship and announcements will be placed in each seat section prior to the services.
- Worship leaders will coordinate entering and exiting the chancel to prevent cross-over.
- Microphones, the pulpit, and lectern, will be cleaned with a disinfectant wipe or spray between each different person using it.
- Masks will be worn by all worshippers unless they are leading a part of the service. Masks may be removed by speakers and singers if they are 12’ from anyone else.
- Offerings will not be received by passing offering plates/baskets as in the past. Attendees can place their offering in a receptacle at the exits of each worship space or use our online giving options.
Online Worship Experiences
- Online worship broadcasts will continue for those who cannot attend in person.
- Services from the sanctuary will be livestreamed.
- Preparations are being made to allow for services in the Cokesbury Center to be livestreamed as well.
- A pre-recorded service will be broadcast each Sunday until the level of participation/engagement indicates it’s no longer needed. These services may have a simplified order of worship depending on what other online services are offered.