Dear Christian friends,
The time has come to return to public worship. Services in our parish will resume on Sunday 5th July with preaching services in Neales Flat, Eudunda, Point Pass, and Robertstown. There are still a significant number of restrictions in place, and some of our worship practices will need to differ from what you may be used to.
Please make yourself aware of the current public health advice. It is still strongly advised that if you display any cold or flu like symptoms that you do not attend public worship. This is simply the best way for us to love our neighbour and not bring potential harm to them. If you would still like to receive printed copies of my sermons, please let your chairperson or pastoral assistant know. Bulletins and sermons will still be emailed to everyone on our list, and video sermons will continue to be available on YouTube.
Our worship spaces will have capacity limits based upon the one person per four square metre density rule:
Neales Flat: 21
Peep Hill: 15
Eudunda: 110
Point Pass: 30
Robertstown: 40
Geranium Plain: 20
Because of these limits, Neales Flat and Peep Hill will temporarily not be able to worship together. For weeks where there is no service scheduled for your congregation, please attend worship in Eudunda which is a larger building and does have capacity to spare.
For the time being, there will be no handshake greeting before or after worship, no passing of the peace during worship, and no morning tea served after worship. Offering bowls will be located near the entrance of the church for you to place your offering as you enter for worship; they will not be passed around during the service. We will not be celebrating Holy Communion in our first weeks back at church, as there are still a number of issues and guidelines that need to be taken into account.
We thank God for our state and federal governments who have worked hard to protect the health and wellbeing of our fellow Australians. The ongoing impact of this pandemic will be felt for some time to come, and I encourage you to continue to pray for this world and all who are affected in any way.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Joshua Muller
Eudunda Robertstown Lutheran Parish