Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

202 Woodford Street,Portland ME 04103

24 December, 2021

Description

A Christmas Eve service of prayer, light, and music Safety precautionsDuring this holiday season, the church is adhering to scientific recommendations to keep our community as safe as possible. However, no community is COVID-proof, and anyone attending in-person events or worship will have some risk of being exposed. All in-person attendees at Christmas Eve worship - which will include singing and communal prayers that are spoken out loud - must accept that they participate in services at their own risk and agree that Woodfords is not liable for any health outcomes that may occur after worship participation. We strongly encourage you to base decisions about whether to attend Christmas Eve worship upon medical providers’ advice and your own personal situation. Both of our services will be live-streamed to allow you to share in the experience if you are uncomfortable accepting these risks. We believe that the Holy One calls us to care not only for ourselves, but for others. Do not attend in-person worship if you are feeling ill or have received a positive COVID test result. If you are in doubt, please err on the side of caution and join us virtually. For the safety of Woodfords community members and guests, we are closely monitoring attendance at Christmas Eve services. All worship attendees must pre-register and agree that they understand and will comply with the following safety protocols: 1. Masks: Masks will be mandatory at worship. Participants will wear masks the entire time they are indoors and inside of Woodfords buildings. 2. Social distancing: Participants at in-person worship will abide by social distancing guidelines. We are limiting attendance to 200 people per service to make such distancing possible. If we are required to further limit attendance based on evolving state guidelines, preference will be given to those who register first. 3. Vaccine status and COVID testing: People who attend in-person worship on Christmas Eve will be fully vaccinated OR have taken a COVID test and received a negative test result within 6 hours of the start time of the worship service they are attending. Over-the-counter test kits provide results within 15 minutes and are available for you to purchase at local stores. 4. Stay home if sick: You will not attend in-person worship services if you are feeling ill, show any symptoms of COVID, or have received a positive COVID test on or after December 15. 5. Consider staying home if unsure: Even if you are asymptomatic, you could be a carrier. If you believe you may have been exposed in the 10 days before Christmas please consider joining our livestream, especially if you are unvaccinated. 6. Notify the church of positive COVID test: Worship participants will notify the church by email ([email protected]) or phone (207-774-8243) if they receive a positive COVID diagnosis within three days after attending Christmas Eve worship. Upon receiving notification of a positive test result, the church will do its best to inform people who attended worship that they may have been exposed. We will do this in an anonymous way that does not reveal names of people who test positive to other worship attendees.