Opening the Sanctuary for In-Person Worship

If Virginia remains in phase 3, we will open the Sanctuary for in-person worship on September 13th, for 50 persons or less. To attend a service in-person, you must:

•Register in Advance by calling the church office or filling out the online google registration form. (Links to registration forms will be emailed to you and posted on our website.)

• Self-monitor for symptoms and/or exposure to coronavirus and stay home if you have any symptoms or concerns about exposure.

• Arrive between 10:15-10:45 A.M.

• Enter the building from the Mount View parking lot entrance.* This is a change we’re making to provide more space as folks wait for temperature checks. *People who need a handicap parking space/entrance, may still use the Locket Street parking lot door.

• Sign in and pass a temperature check at the door. (100.4° or higher will be asked not to attend.)

• Wear a mask and maintain social distancing of 6 feet at all times while in the building.

• Sit only on pews not marked by reserved signs and at least 6 feet away from other worshippers (unless they are members of your family or you have elected to “quarantine” together)

• Wait to exit the Sanctuary until you are dismissed. We also request that you exit the building before socializing with friends (conversation is safer in the great outdoors!)

Our final “practice-run” with a pilot group of worshippers will be this Sunday, Aug. 30th. Thank you to everyone who has participated and helped us figure out our procedures!

What about September 6th? This service will be a special “hymn-festival” (think hymn-sing with some stories and scripture like Lessons & Carols.) Because of the large amount of singing, and the health risks involved, this service will be online only. More info. coming in next week’s newsletter!

West Main Baptist Church 450 West Main Street Danville, VA  24541

Phone: (434) 792-5960

E-mail: westmainbaptist@comcast.net

Temporary Church Office Hours: Monday - Thursday,

9:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. No Wed. Night Dinner or

Activities until further notice. Online Worship Sundays @

11:00 via Facebook Live

West Main Baptist Staff Drew Herring- Senior Pastor Skyler Daniel - Associate Pastor for Youth and Families Jennifer Clatterbuck - Associate Pastor for Children and Families Mark Gourley- Min. of Music & Worship Billie Jo Reynolds - Church Administrator Sherry Price - Communications Sec. and Director, WEE Center Daryl Edwards - Custodian Ann Beyer - Coordinator of Church Life

ONLINE WORSHIP THIS WEEK August 30, 2020

11:00 A.M. on Facebook Live

Drew Herring’s Topic: Hold On To What Is Good Romans 12: 9-21

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Hi-Lites August 26, 2020

Not on Facebook? Sermon podcasts and links to worship recordings are posted on our website. To receive written copies

of the sermon, please call the church office: 792-5960.

IN-PERSON WORSHIP TO BEGIN SEPTEMBER 13TH

If Virginia remains in phase 3, we will open the Sanctuary for in-person worship on September 13th. Information on how to register to attend and all safety protocols is listed on the inside flap of this newsletter. If you would like to volunteer to be part of our final pilot group of worshippers on Aug. 30th, please register by clicking the link that was emailed to you this week or by calling the church office at 792-5960.

Wednesday Night Bring Your Own Supper &

Vespers on the Lawn

Wed. nights from 6-7 P.M. this fall, weather permitting.

Bring your own supper & chair or blanket to sit on. Vespers

will begin at 6:30.

New Children’s Bible Study for 1st- 6th Graders

This fall, we’ll “trade in” Sunday School for a new Children’s Bible Study for 1st - 6th graders using Buck Denver Asks… What’s In The Bible? Tuesdays, 4:00-5:00 P.M. - 1st - 4th graders Wednesdays, 4:00-5:00 P.M. - Fifty6 (5th & 6th graders) Register your child by contacting Jennifer or calling the church office. Temperatures will be taken at drop off and mask-wearing & social distancing will be practiced. An at-home option will be available for families who have a scheduling conflict or who don’t yet feel comfortable with in-person activities.

Monday Morning Music with Mark@ 11:00 A.M.

August 31- Organ/Piano Duets with Lynne Booker September 14 - Your Hymn Requests - Please submit your requests to Mark by Thursday, September 10th. Hymns should be in the West Main hymnal, Celebrating Grace or Mark can make sure the hymn is in Public Domain, so we avoid any copyright violations during the Livestream. The deadline for submissions will be Thursday, September 10th.

The Monday Morning Music with Mark will be live-streamed on the West Main Facebook page and recordings will be linked to the music page on our website.

WEST MAIN MEMBERS Lynne Booker Coy Harville Joyce Payne Lee Wayland Raymond Elliott Jimmie Payne Jeannett Meetze Tim Brown, stationed in S. Korea

ASSISTED CARE Nancy Buchanan - Commonwealth Virginia Powell - Roman Eagle Mercer Motley - Riverside Nell Moore - Riverside Mary Carter Ladd - Riverside Russell Hines - Atlanta

FAMILY & FRIENDS Michelle Bloomer’s mother Pete Heath’s father Katie Brooks’ father Jane Willis’ nephew & family Tracey Smith’s mother, Cleta Pam Pulley’s mother, Olga Mark Gourley’s uncle, Lee Waldron

Peyton Keesee’s mother-in- law, Jean Parker Peyton Keesee’s daughter-in- law, Kelsey Keesee Kevin Kirk’s uncle, Rob

Jim Fuquay’s niece, Melissa Donna Helton’s parents Rena Vaughn’s brother WH & Melodie’s friend Zach, 15 with MS Janice Morning’s brother Margaret Adcock’s brother-in- law, Donnie Blalock Jennifer Horne & other staff on Sovah 5a & the ICU Robin Turner’s friend, April Mauldin Megan Bond’s uncle, Harrison Inge Mike and Donna Comper’s friend, Terry Slater Judy Gourley’s sister in law, Brenda Hunt Lili Manning Sallie Minter’s friend, Judy Nolan’s grandson Barbara Pleasant’s mother Chris Hill Becky Barker’s brother, Howard Brink Bobby Harris’ friend, Mary

AUGUST 30th 6-7:30 PM Face mask Service Project

Join us at the Police Department as we create baggies with face mask, sanitizer, & bottled water, for

Danville Police Department to distribute. Let’s help DPD protect and serve our community!

No Dinner 427 Patton St.

SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS

1 Jeff Wells 2 Richard McFarling Marlene Carlson Raylen Rubio 3 Dwayne Durham Jean Harville Sheila Meeks 4 Sara Kate Reynolds 5 Karen Holshouser 6 Jim Stephens 8 Hunter Mills 10 Lori Heath 11 Glenn Pulley Robert Sanford Katherine Lee Gluhareff 12 Jon Dalton Dwight Rudd 13 Karibee Brumfield 14 Sylvia Henry

14 Helen Reynolds 15 Judah Herring 16 Kate Clatterbuck 17 Steve Ramsey Mark Vaughn Vicky Lee 18 Lori Beth Dalton 19 Angela Blankenship Katie Brooks Sydney Stone Luke Mills 20 Cathy Wilson 21 Shelley Blackwell 22 Sam Burton 23 Raymond Newman 24 Kim Roberson Jennifer Doggett 25 Pearson Wales 27 Kim Gentry Ellie Whittle Thomas Dalton 28 James Turner 29 Carolyn Stephenson Sandra Clark Christian Gluhareff

Dear West Main Family, After many months of trying to connect with you through the lens of a camera, it has been nothing short of joyful to worship with some of you in-person. I pray that your time in the sanctuary as a part of our “pilot group” has lifted your spirits too. As necessary as our online services continue to be to safeguard the health of our bodies, they do not allow for the fullness of that connection which God calls us into as the body of Christ. For church is not just about the prayers, the preaching, or the music, but about finding the presence of Christ in each other. That is why I am excited to welcome more of you to the sanctuary on September 13th. But my excitement is tempered by a longing for the day when all of us can gather there again, and a commitment to doing whatever it takes to accomplish that goal safely. In our recommendations as a Coronavirus Taskforce, we have attempted to balance the latest public health guidelines with the spiritual needs of our church family. As a congregation we have made decisions on these recommendations together. You have chosen to give up those parts of our life together that might create unnecessary health risks, sacrificially loving your neighbor as yourself. You have been wise, patient, resilient, and compassionate. You have walked in the way of Jesus and in the West Main way. As much as re-entering the sanctuary is something to celebrate, we should also approach this threshold with fear and trembling, knowing that with the freedom of being together again comes an even greater responsibility to protect one another. The procedures we are following for worship are based on the Coronavirus Taskforce’s evaluation of early scientific data that indicated that the virus not only spreads through contact with surfaces and other persons, but also through the inhalation of respiratory droplets. These droplets are projected through breathing, talking, and especially singing, with the concentration of possible pathogens increasing in spaces shared by a group of people for an extended period of time. Therefore, worship likely carries much more risk of infection than a quick trip to the grocery store. That is why we are not currently singing as a choir or a congregation, and why we are currently limiting attendance to fifty persons or less. I write all of this with the acknowledgement that there is still much that we don’t know about this novel virus. We are committed to continued research and open to changing procedures as we learn more. We welcome your continued input. I know that it is difficult to follow these precautions. I know that church under these circumstances might not “feel like church.” But I remind you of the lesson that we have learned again and again through this pandemic: Church is not about a building or a service. It’s about you and me, and the connection we find to Christ in each other, whether we are at home or in the sanctuary.

Thanks be to God, Drew