Herndon UMC Building and Healthy Church Protocols
Questions about protocols? Please email the Healthy Church Team (HCT) at hct@herndonumc.org.
Questions about stewardship of our building and properties? Email trustees@herndonumc.org.
Friends,
The Herndon UMC Healthy Church Team (HCT) met on Monday, November 15, 2021 to review our current guidance on community gathering at Herndon UMC. Based on this meeting and review of the most current data available, we are going to be making a transition to our protocols at Herndon UMC. Our basis for determining appropriate community activity at any given time will be based on the CDC Level of Community Transmission for Fairfax County, VA. https://www.cdc.gov/TemplatePackage/contrib/widgets/covidcountycheck/
This level ranking is determined by the CDC and is based on total new cases and percent positivity within a county. There are four categories the CDC uses in this ranking: High, Substantial, Moderate, and Low.
Our behavior at Herndon UMC will correspond with these categories in the following ways:
High/Substantial
- Masking required in the building regardless of vaccination status for all activities
- No food or drink
- Encouraged digital or hybrid gatherings where possible
- Limits on room occupancy and length of gatherings where appropriate
Moderate
- Masking required in the building regardless of vaccination status for large group activities (all worship services, group meetings with more than 12 people).
- Masking recommended in the building for vaccinated individuals in the building alone or in small group activities (gatherings with 12 or fewer people). Masking required in the building for unvaccinated individuals.
- Any activity involving singing is a mask-required activity regardless of group size.
- Anyone is allowed to be masked in the building at any time if that is her/his/their preference.
- Pre-prepared food and drink are allowed in the building. Masks may be removed to ingest food or drink but must be replaced immediately.
- Preparation of food and drink is limited to no more than 6 people in the main kitchen at any one time and no more than 2 people in the sacristy kitchen at any one time.
- Because masking is required in the building for groups of more than 12 people, we would strongly recommend that eating and drinking only take place in small groups. This reduces the temptation of not following masking guidelines in larger groups. While eating and drinking are not prohibited during large group activities, they would be discouraged.
- Encouraged digital or hybrid gatherings where possible.
- Limits on room occupancy and length of gatherings where appropriate.
Low
- Masking required in the building regardless of vaccination status for large group activities (all worship services, group meetings with more than 12 people).
- Pre-prepared food and drink are allowed in the building. Masks may be removed to ingest food or drink but must be replaced immediately.
- Encouraged digital or hybrid gatherings where possible.
- Limits on room occupancy and length of gatherings where appropriate.
Preschool
- The Herndon UMC Preschool will have to operate under different guidance and continue to wear masks at all times, even if Fairfax County enters into a low transmission level. The Fairfax County Health Department just issued new guidance for child care facilities and the recommendations are to mask up and limit interactions between classes.
- Visitors to the preschool wing of the church should continue to wear masks as well regardless of vaccination status or community transmission level at this time.
With this guidance in mind, the current community transmission status in Fairfax County is moderate. HCT will be monitoring transmission status and will advise the congregation if/when the status shifts.
As always, if you or your ministry area have an event or ongoing activity that would require action outside of this guidance, you are welcome to submit a proposal to HCT via email: hct@herndonumc.org. This guidance will carry us through at least the end of the 2021 calendar year but will be evaluated as necessary in the coming months.
Thank you for joining alongside us to ensure we are able to live as healthy and connected a life as possible in the Herndon UMC family!
Blessings,
Herndon UMC Healthy Church Team
Trustees Corner
As we face this pandemic, the building may be closed, but our church remains active in Christian ministry. Our Trustees continue to work tirelessly to promote safety and security.
Questions? You may always contact the Trustees at trustees@herndonumc.org.
You will also find helpful resources here like:
A building map showing new room numbers. (Click the image to enlarge it.)
Learn more about the ministry of our Trustees here in the Trustees Tidbits blog below. These are also available weekly in the Tuesday e-News.
Improving Outside Site #1
With the weather changing, small groups will again meet outdoors to fellowship and see God in nature. Having wet feet should not be part of the experience. Through the Trustees, improvements were made to access the area outside the kitchen. Paving stones were added and the gate repaired.