Good afternoon,

I pray that everyone is well!

 

There are no plans at this time to cancel Sunday worship services nor any other activity at Mount Moriah.

 

On Wednesday, DC Mayor Bowser along with DC Health Officials recommended postponing or cancelling “non-essential mass gatherings of 1000 people or more due to coronavirus concerns.” This does not affect Mt. Moriah in any way. We do not have gatherings this large.

 

However, I want the MMBC family to know that we are proactively seeking to ensure that our church is a safe and healthy environment.

 

Below we are sharing some of the steps we are taking, some of our own implementation, others under the circulated advisement of DC Department of Health and the CDC. 

1. If sick, stay home.

2. Reminders to wash and sanitize your hands: The Trustee Ministry has posted signs around the building, including our bathrooms, reminding our congregation to wash their hands regularly. We are also asking everyone in our congregation to wash their hands upon entering the church, and if available, utilize one of our hand-sanitizing stations before entering any environment in our building. Children Ministry leaders will remind children not to put their hands on their faces and to wash their hands.

3. Custodial Staff: On February 28th, the Trustee Ministry instructed our custodial staff to pay particular attention to doors, railings, chairs, pews, and other high touch areas when cleaning and to ensure there is ample hand soap throughout the church.

4. Evangelism Ministry: This Saturday’s outreach has been cancelled.

5. Changes to the greeting portion of our worship service: Until further notice, when it comes to greeting each other during our greeting period, we will not shake hands or hug. We will wave, greet each other with a smile, a fist or elbow pump. This helps everyone to avoid the pressure of having to shake hands.

6. Changes to the prayer portion of our worship service:  We will remain seated during prayer time. There will be no holding of hands.

7. Changes to Sunday Breakfast: Until further notice sandwiches and bottled drinks will be served during Sunday breakfast. These will be handed out by our culinary ministry.

8. Please do not touch the trays during offering time.

9. Encourage our congregation to remain calm and be respectful: It's important that facts outweigh fear, and the reality is that, currently, the general risk remains low in DC. We encourage everyone to listen to local health authorities and follow common sense precautions to protect themselves and their communities. Additionally, we are aware of racist and discriminatory acts against people from Asian backgrounds—particularly those from Chinese and Korean communities. We want to demonstrate the love of Christ and reject any kind of xenophobia that often surfaces during times like these.

10. Continue to Pray: Let’s also keep in prayer those around the world who are affected by this and, in particular, the vulnerable in our own midst. We ask that God would protect those who are caring for the sick and give wisdom and insight to those working to find a vaccine.

Again, let us not act out of fear, but as responsible disciples of Christ.

 

Because of Christ,

 

Pastor Dalton

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Important Resources: 

• Government of the District of Columbia COVID-19 Updates

• DC Health

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention