As you are aware, the situation with the coronavirus is changing rapidly. The staff and I just finished having a meeting with several of our people who have medical and emergency backgrounds. After much discussion, and with their advice, we will have our regular worship service in the morning at 11 a.m. However, we will cancel Sunday school and our Sunday evening programs. We are also canceling Wednesday evening programs.

At the same time, we want to stress that those people who are in a high risk category should stay at home. The CDC categorizes as high risk:

• Older adults
• People who have serious chronic medical conditions like:
  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Lung disease

(Follow this link for more information from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/high-risk-complications.html#who-is-higher-risk)

Additionally, if you or anyone in your family has any symptoms of sickness, please stay home. For more information about symptoms to watch for, visit this site: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fabout%2Fsymptoms.html

We will change some things in our service tomorrow. We ask that you not shake hands or hug. We will not pass the offering plate. We will receive the offering at the end of the service with ushers waiting at the exits. We will prop open as many doors as we can (weather permitting) so that you don’t have to handle doorknobs. We will not be having a Children’s Church program so small children will need to stay with their parents.

If you would feel more comfortable staying home and joining us online, that would be fine. You can watch at our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/insideoakpark) or through our website (http://www.insideoakpark.com/live/).

We will keep in touch with you as we see how events unfold over the next week to let you know what we will be doing for the following Sunday.

We understand that these are a lot of changes and we don’t want to be controlled by fear. At the same time, you are our top concern. We want you to stay safe and we don’t want to do anything that would endanger your health. We are trusting that even in this, our Lord is reigning supreme and has plans that we know nothing of. If I or others of the staff can help in any way, please don’t hesitate to call, text, or email us.

Bro Gary