Local churches may restart in-person worship
Apply for Micro Matching Grant for Online Worship
A Word From Bishop Holston
Recognizing that churches are in different places in their planning to resume worship and other in-person gatherings – allowed to resume in the South Carolina Conference – Bishop Holston affirms these Best Practices compiled by a team of pastors and laity to complement our original Reset | Restart | Renew resources. We will be adding more resources to this page.
Questions or suggestions about restarting? Email restart@umcsc.org
Detailed guidance on what a local church should do upon learning of a confirmed case of COVID-19 in your congregation.
Detailed guidance on an array of procedures and practices to help churches safely resume in-person worship – keeping clergy, staff and volunteers safe; communion, baptisms, weddings and funerals; Sunday school, small groups, children’s ministry and weekday preschool; cleaning, seating, traffic and recording attendance.
This checklist is designed to help church leaders re-initiate in-person worship onsite – a step-by-step guide for churches at the beginning of their planning or a good review to enhance the work of churches that are well into that process.
Checking the pulse of your congregation can provide insight as you plan to responsibly return to in-person worship amid an ongoing pandemic. Often, pastors and church leaders will hear from their most vocal members, but we shouldn’t assume that they always represent all perspectives within a congregation.
