CORONA VIRUS RELATED INFORMATION

NOVEMBER 18, 2020 Update:

"Dear Abingdon Bible Church,  The elder board met this week to review the Governor’s new mandates pertaining to COVID. We are mostly in compliance with the new mandates, with exceptions in just a couple of areas.

• Cleaning between services: We will begin cleaning the sanctuary between the first and second services and request that people do not linger too long in the sanctuary. The cleaning solution is not harmful, but we need people to be out of the sanctuary so we can ensure that it is clean for the next service.

• Masks: The mandate now requires people to wear masks before entering the building for any church gatherings. Our signage will be updated to reflect this requirement. The mandate requires that masks remain on during services or other activities in the building.

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The mask topic prompted much discussion with both sides well represented. We understand that this is a divisive topic, so our decision regarding masks was not easy. We understand that some will see these restrictions going too far and some not far enough.

We don’t know who is right or who is wrong in this matter. What we do know is this:

• Romans 13:1 tells us “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”  The Commonwealth of Virginia has granted churches an exception to the 25 person limit. We need to comply with their mandates to take advantage of this exception.

• The mask topic has created a divide in our nation and in our churches. We can choose to focus on the things that divide us or we can focus on the one thing that unifies us – the saving grace of Jesus Christ. It is our desire that everyone be able to return to in-person church services. Those that don’t return in person for whatever reasons, we miss you and understand. Romans 12:8 tells us, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

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~ Kirk Lortz, ABC Elder Board Chairman, on behalf of the elder board

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FALL 2020:

Beginning Oct. 4, we will be moving to an indoor, 2-service format (mostly identical services) to allow everyone to attend in the auditorium and still practice social distancing. We ask that you wear a mask when interacting closely with others and try to maintain social distancing. If you are at higher risk for Covid, prefer to be on the cautious side, or just prefer to rise early, consider our 9:00am service because the building will have been mostly empty prior to that time. We will be allowing approx. 50-60min. between services to allow the air in the auditorium to refresh and filter.

Service One - 9:00am - 10:00am (Service will be live-streamed)

Service Two - 11:00am - 12:00pm (Earlier live stream should be available to watch by this time)

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CHILDREN:

For the time being, we will not have Sunday School hour on Sundays to lower the amount of time we are together in the building at once (minimizing person-to-person contact time). There is currently no nursery, but we welcome little ones in our service. The noise is expected and reminds us of the future generations of the church.

WEDNESDAY FAMILY NIGHTS - are up and running again! There's a ministry track designed to serve the entire family. This includes a condensed version of AWANA for the kids. See more info on Wednesday nights here.

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OTHER OPTIONS:

If you are not able to join us in person on Sunday mornings, we encourage you to make use of one of the following options:

1) Live-streaming on our YouTube channel (click the link below)

2) Radio - Join us in your car and tune in to 107.1FM (within a 1/2-mile radius of the building)

3) YouTube - Can't join us live? You can go back and watch the service later on our YouTube channel (use the link below).

WATCH LIVE ON OUR

YOUTUBE CHANNEL