January 6, 2022
We continue to have 2 services each Sunday; our Early at 8:30 Outdoors Service and our Service in the Sanctuary at 11:00, which we live-stream. We do not require masks for worship, but we have folks who continue to wear them and we encourage you to do what is comfortable for you. We are hard at work planning the winter and spring programs, which are dependent upon covid activity. Please check back for more details.
October 7, 2021
We continue to have 2 services each Sunday; our Early at 8:30 Outdoors Service and our Service in the Sanctuary at 11:00, which we live-stream. We do not require masks for worship, but we have folks who continue to wear them and we encourage you to do what is comfortable for you. Our last outdoor service will be on October 31, and our “Early at 8:30” service will move into our Fellowship Hall until Spring. We have two Kids Central programs on Wednesday afternoons; from 3:15- 4:15 when masks are required for staff, volunteers and children and from 4:45- 6:00 when masks are optional, although all staff and volunteers and youth will wear them.
September 12, 2021
We continue to have 2 services each Sunday; our Early at 8:30 Outdoors Service and our Service in the Sanctuary at 11:00, which we live-stream. We do not require masks for worship, but we have folks who continue to wear them and we encourage you to do what is comfortable for you. We have two Kids Central programs on Wednesday afternoons; from 3:15- 4:15 when masks are required for staff, volunteers and children and from 4:45- 6:00 when masks are optional, although all staff and volunteers and youth will wear them.
April 15, 2021
Currently, we have a bit of a hybrid schedule. Both of our Sunday worship services at 8:30 and 11:00 are indoors with social distancing and masks but on May 2 the “Early at 8:30” service will move outdoors to the Scout Hut Lawn. We live- stream both services on our YouTube channel but after May 2, we will live stream the 11:00 service only. Our Youth Sunday School classes and Youth Fellowship meet in-person with social distancing and masks when inside. Our Children and Family Sunday School is done on Zoom at present. We have a small Kids Central for 3rd- 5th graders in person with masks and social distancing on Wednesdays at 4:30-5:30 with Robin and Praise Kidz on Tuesdays at 10:00 inside. We plan to have Vacation Bible School during the week of June 6 but the final format is still being planned. We have one Adult Sunday School meeting in-person and by Zoom and another class entirely on Zoom. Our Adult Choir practices on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 and record music for Sunday in a socially distanced, safe way. Our handbell choir is currently on hiatus. Most of our Committees either meet entirely on Zoom or have an in-person and Zoom option.
October 4, 2020
Today is World Communion Sunday when Christians around the world celebrate The Lord’s Supper on the same day. This Sunday also marks our return to Worship “Indoors @ 11” in the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall for a second service in addition to “Early @ 8:30 Outdoors.” Beginning this Sunday, we will also have our 11:00 worship service Live Streamed to YouTube (click here to access)and we will post a recording of the early outdoors service as we have been doing.
For the 11:00 service, please park on the Central Avenue side of the building. The only entrance that will be open is the Main Entrance on this side. The doors on the Weekday School side of the building will not be open. As you enter the Gathering Area, there is a sanitary station with no touch hand sanitizer and a box of masks. Please use the hand sanitizer and take a mask if you do not have one. We will have seating in both the Sanctuary and the Fellowship Hall, where the service from the Sanctuary will be broadcast by closed circuit onto the large screen. Ushers will seat you in either the Sanctuary or the Fellowship Hall. Seating is similar to what we use at the outdoor service. We have assigned numbers to the pews in the Sanctuary and the tables in the Fellowship Hall. The Sanctuary has 32 long pews in the center and 32 short pews on the sides accommodating 32 households using every other long pew and every other short pew. In the Fellowship Hall, you will be seated by household groups at a table, physically distanced. You will be given a number and an usher will seat you either in the Sanctuary or the Fellowship Hall. Following best practice, all the information for worship is in the bulletin. There are no books in the pews. Entry and exit from the Sanctuary will be by the doors in the Gathering Area. In order to maintain physical distancing as you leave, ushers will escort you out, beginning with the back pews.
August 12, 2020
We continue to worship primarily outdoors, with bringing our own lawn chairs and observing physical distancing, sitting on the lawn as family groups separated appropriately from other family groups.
As you arrive, ushers at our Parking Lot entrances will ask if you wish to sit on the lawn as a “household” (those in your car) or if you prefer to remain in your car. Those remaining in cars will be encouraged to park in parking spaces closest to the lawn. All parking spaces around the lawn are reserved for “households” uncomfortable moving to the lawn at this time. An FM Transmitter (FM 101.5) broadcasts Worship for all those remaining in cars. Those sitting on the lawn should park in the gravel lot behind the Ford House; in parking spaces overlooking Greenwood Cemetery or near the main entrance circle driveway; or beside the playground. After parking your car, please walk to the tent where you will be given a number for the spot on the lawn for your “household” to sit. Rest Rooms remain closed, but bottled water is available. Ushers will receive the Regular Offering during Worship wearing gloves. The service will be recorded in its entirety and posted online at our website (www.fpc-belmont.org) Sunday afternoon.
In the event of rain…
In the words of John Calvin, “The Church is where the Word is truly preached and the sacraments rightly celebrated.” Our church is blessed with many children whose families wish to affirm God’s connection of each child to us through Baptism.
Given the centrality of Baptism to The Church and our gathering outdoors since May without cancellation because of inclement weather, we are now exploring protocols for Worship INDOORS In the event of rain as many families travel from out-of-town and out-of-state to attend. Additionally, our Reformed Tradition understands Baptism within a Covenant Community represented by a gathered congregation. In the event of rain we will follow INDOORS the same outdoor “physical distancing” guidelines using our number system on pews with a complete pew separation between households with only one household on a pew. Our Sanctuary has 32 long pews in the center and 32 short pews on the sides accommodating 32 households using every other long pew and every other short pew. We will also have masks available and provide them to all who attend. The service will be recorded using our Sanctuary Sound System and posted online by early Sunday afternoon in keeping with our current outdoor practice. Since March we have installed improved HVAC filters for our physical plant and hired evening custodian James Williams to clean the Weekday School daily as well as the Church Office, Sanctuary, both floors of the Gathering Area, and the Scout Hut. A decision regarding “Early @ 8:30 INDOORS” will be made no later than 7 a.m. Sunday and yard signs will be posted outside — Due to Rain Early at 8:30 INDOORS.
May 30, 2020
Dear Congregation,
We all have missed being together these last few weeks and hopefully will be able to once again gather, worship, visit, learn, share and be with one another. Our staff and many others have worked tirelessly to make sure we stay connected to each other and to God. We realize many are anxious to return to “normal” and the Session and staff are diligently planning as information becomes available to be able to safely meet again. Hopefully as time passes, we will be able to safely do so with the guidance of knowledgeable people and accurate information. This coming Sunday, the Confirmation Class will profess their faith with their families who will be able to sit on the lawn while the rest of the congregation remain in their car. This will be a very special service and hope many of you will be able to share in the event. The following week we will honor our High School Seniors in the same manner. As time goes forward, we will monitor the status of the virus spread and will make changes and put into place safe measures to be able to have outdoor services on the lawn and indoor worship once again. Please continue to contact each other through email, zoom, skype, text or whatever method is comfortable to you to maintain and strengthen your faith. Please continue to monitor your emails for changes and the schedule of things to come.
Yours in Christ The Session of First Presbyterian Church Belmont
April 2, 2020
Due to the continued community spread of the Coronavirus (Covid 19) in our community and with the peak of the virus expected to impact our state within the next couple of weeks, the church facility (including the church office and the weekday school office) will be closed beginning this evening through April 30. We will continue to be checking our staff email and our phone messages from home so please do not hesitate to contact us if you have a pastoral need.
March 15 at 3:42
The Preschool, Day School and After School programs of our Weekday School are closed for for the next two weeks.
March 14 at 6:02 pm
Late this afternoon, it was announced that the Governor has mandated the closing of all the public schools in North Carolina. The Weekday School Committee will meet tomorrow morning (Sunday, March 15) to determine the best way forward for our Weekday School. We understand that uncertainty in your child care is deeply unsettling and we will strive to give you needed information as soon as possible.
March 14, 2020
The Session and the Board of Deacons met this morning (March 14,2020) to discuss our church's response to the Coronavirus, in light of the recommendations about group meetings from the Governor of North Carolina and the Presbytery of Western North Carolina.
The church officers are in complete agreement that our first concern is for the health and safety of our congregation and all those in our community who use our facilities every week and also to help slow the spread of this virus so that those who do contract it will be able to access needed medical care.
The following decisions were made:
Worship services are suspended for March 15 and 22.
The remaining Lenten Luncheons are cancelled and will not be rescheduled.
All church program ministries are suspended for two weeks. This includes, but is not limited to, Sunday School, Kids Central, Family Night Supper, choirs, Scouts, Community Bible Study, Youth, Women with Faith, and Sam's book study.
The Church office will remain open with regular hours.
At this time, the Weekday School, including the preschool and after school programs will remain open, however, the Weekday School Committee will meet tomorrow to discuss the implementation of the recommendations for day care facilities from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The Committee will contact Weekday School families with any changes to our policies.
Our prayer is that the spread of this virus can be slowed down and everyone remains healthy. Unfortunately, these restrictions necessarily impact our fellowship and life together as a congregation. We are kicking our long- desired ability to livestream our worship services into high gear and hope we can have that online in two weeks. We are also exploring video conferencing to enable bible studies or youth activities online. You can use this opportunity to explore our online giving via our website by clicking here.
Please reach out to one another by phone, especially those who live alone or are in fragile health and let Sam or Daria know of any pastoral care needs. We are all in this together- you are never alone!
Sam opened the meeting this morning with this passage from Matthew:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today."
Peace,
Daria Ragan
Associate Pastor, First Presbyterian Church Belmont