In-Person Worship Timeline Moving Up to June 6
Updated May 21, 2021
Dear Church Family,
We are happy to announce an updated timeline for our return to in-person worship. Since our last announcement, the CDC stated that fully vaccinated individuals can begin to feel safe gathering indoors. Given this new guidance from public health officials, we are excited to share that our return to in-person worship in the Sanctuary at 11:00 is moving up to June 6!
On June 6, this 11:00 Sanctuary worship service, complete with our choir, brass, and strings, will be a joyous milestone in our journey together. Soon, we will also be announcing in-person return dates for Mosaic and Open communities. Our hearts are filled with hope at the thought of gathering together in person soon.
We also know that at this point many are not yet ready or safely able to return in person. Rest assured, we will continue to provide excellent online worship and will be transitioning to live-streaming our worship services as technological updates are implemented across the church. Additionally, our ministry team is actively developing opportunities for gathering together as a community outside of worship throughout the summer, as well as continuing online gatherings such as small groups, Bible studies, and Sunday school classes.
We are still planning to relaunch all regular Sunday morning programming on August 15. This means that Sunday morning programming for Nursery, Children, Youth, Sunday School, and others will be back in full swing on August 15. Until then, we will be offering worship only on Sunday morning.
June 6 will be a big new step, and our reentry processes are being taken seriously to ensure safety and to give time and space for each person to return joyfully. While vaccination levels in our area are encouraging, remember that many have not yet been vaccinated, particularly youth and children, so we continue to seek to do no harm. With that in mind, here are a few details of what you can expect on June 6:
We expect that all unvaccinated persons will wear masks and we invite all vaccinated persons who wish to wear masks to continue.
Please be respectful of social distancing and the comfort and safety level of those around you.
The service will include music from the choir, as well as brass and string ensembles, hymns, a sermon, and liturgy of worship.
June 6 is communion Sunday. We will be taking communion together through individually packaged communion sets.
Please enter through the entrance on Mulberry Street (the north side across from Wells Fargo). There you will be greeted warmly and guided to the sanctuary level via elevator or stairs. Other entrances will not be in use.
We suggest you park in the East lot of the church, in the free city parking along Mulberry St., or in handicap parking along the Mulberry Street side of the building if needed.
The building will be open for entry beginning at 10:40.
We are grateful for your faithfulness through the journey of this past year and for the way you have worked to ensure the safety and well-being of our community as we have sought to hold to our sacred commitment to do no harm and to love our neighbor. Now, given this new guidance and the steadfast work of the congregation of this church, we are excited to welcome you back beginning on June 6! We believe God’s best days for First United Methodist Church of Denton are ahead of us, and we cannot wait to take the next step together.
We look forward to seeing you either in person or online on June 6!
In Christ and Christian Community,
Rev. Don Lee, Lead Pastor
Rev. Jonathan Perry, Executive Pastor
Tommie Nations, Administrative Board Chair
David Piccolo, Trustees Chair