This coming Sunday – June 20, 2021 – First Free will be rolling out some new things!! We thank God that our city’s mitigation efforts against the spread of Covid-19 are in good control, so the city of Chicago has moved to phase 5 of re-opening. Below is a PDF with a full description of how we will adjust things at First Free. Here are the highlights:
- Main floor of the Sanctuary – capacity at 100%; no registration required; sit where you would like; please be mindful of others to avoid crowding.
- Balcony of the Sanctuary – seating available with registration; households (or groups of households that register together) who reserve balcony seats will continue to follow social distancing with seats assigned ahead of time
- Face masks – while in the building, please continue to wear a face mask, even if you are vaccinated or comfortable without one. We are doing this in solidarity with those who cannot be vaccinated or who are medically vulnerable, to make First Free’s church campus a place that is welcoming to all. (If you have a medical condition that makes it difficult to wear a mask, please talk to us so we can give you an exception to the rule.) Note added 7/14/21: we will continue following this guidance through the summer and re-evaluate again near the end of August. We have over 30 children who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated, which is at least 15% of our congregation. We are also still working on mitigation measures to improve the ventilation or air circulation / filtering in our Sanctuary. Without an HVAC system there, we are limited in cost-effective (and effective!) air purification options.
- Children – kids of all ages are welcome to worship at First Free! During the Sunday morning worship service, there will be tables and toys set up downstairs with video or audio feed running for parents to supervise children while still listening to the sermon; the nursery will be open for young children (unstaffed – use with parent supervision); all children can collect an activity bag outside the main Sanctuary doors to use during the sermon. Before the worship service, there will be a kids Sunday school class from 9:20 am – 9:55 am in the 3rd floor classroom of the Family Life Center. Contact kids@firstfree.com to get more information!
For more details, please read this PDF – Public Health Guidelines for Ministry at First Free (phase 5 – summer 2021). Save it, bookmark it, refer to it, and use it! Please ask any question you have in the comments below!
PS: You may be wondering when will First Free stop requiring face masks. We are following the public health guidelines regarding congregate settings and educational facilities (see link above to Chicago’s guidelines). We will continue to monitor this and make changes when we can. And before we do, we will be sure to let you all know via this blog, a churchwide email, and the church’s official website at firstfree.com!
If you would like a socially-distanced seat in the balcony, register here.
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