Transition Task Force Proposal
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Transition Task Force Proposal Dear Fellow Leadership Council members - On behalf of the entire Transition Task Force, it is my privilege to introduce you to our final report. The Task Force hopes that you will find it to be a Spirit-led, Spirit-bred pathway for transitioning our congregation from the first days of the current CoVid-19 challenge into the immediate days ahead. At the beginning of the CoVid-19 pandemic, Clear Lake United Methodist Church dedicated itself to practicing three values throughout this crisis: prioritizing safety, promoting social distancing, and providing spiritual strength. Those three values have served the congregation well, and those values are the foundation on which this report and its recommendations are built. This proposal also represents the best research and reading, the best experience and expertise, and the best prayer and practices of a very competent collection of biomedical researchers, engineers, IT experts, doctors and nurses, Texas Department of Corrections health system planners, NASA project leaders, and persons with experience in University of Houston event planning and risk assessment. The task force met weekly, beginning May 17 through June 22. Some twenty research documents and articles were read and referenced, forming the knowledge base for of our decisions. Consultations with other congregations – as well as with the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church – further informed our work. A question-driven matrix encompassing four transition phases ensured a comprehensive and consistent approach to each step of our journey. There is no doubt in my mind that the resulting proposals reflect the best thinking of some of the congregation’s best thinkers, as well as their best praying. Our report is divided into two sections, with each section reflecting a specific desire of the task force. The first section - the Proposal/Transition Chart - represents the committee’s desire to be comprehensive in our approach. The second section - the Appendix containing all the research documents, articles, and notes from the task force’s deliberations - represents the committee’s desire to be transparent with all our sources, resources, and deliberations. The first section is provided for action by the Leadership Council; the second section is provided for understanding by larger church. In Galatians 6:2, the Apostle Paul writes, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Given the many medical unknowns and social uncertainties of this national challenge, some may see these proposals as being too careful, while others may deem them not careful enough. Our prayer as a task force is that this report represents our best effort in assisting our church members to bear one another’s burdens during this unprecedented time of challenge, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Charles Anderson Lead Pastor Table of Contents Proposal/Transition Chart ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Appendix ................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Readings .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6 24 Questions Your Church Should Answer Before People Return .................................................................................. 6 Guidelines for Reopening Churches in The Wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic .............................................................. 10 Open Texas Checklist .................................................................................................................................................... 12 Leading Beyond the Blizzard: Why Every Organization Is Now a Startup ..................................................................... 14 Reopening Churches: Leading Children and Family Ministry After COVID-19 .............................................................. 22 Reopening the Church: A Discussion on Leading After COVID-19 ................................................................................ 25 The Risks - Know Them - Avoid Them ........................................................................................................................... 27 NATS Panel of Experts Lays Out Sobering Future for Singers: "No Vaccine, No Safe Public Singing" .......................... 32 Coming Home: Guidelines for Planning to Reopen the Church - Bishop Jones ............................................................ 35 Vaccine expert Peter Hotez reveals 3 things to help Houston reopen, avoid second surge of COVID-19 ................... 39 Workplaces During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Workplace Decision Tree ...................................................................... 43 CDC Interim Guidance for Communities of Faith .......................................................................................................... 44 When Your Church Reopens, Here’s How to Meet Safely ............................................................................................ 48 Reopening Churches: Executive Operations & Facility Management After COVID-19 ................................................. 55 Reopening The Church: Communication Strategies After COVID-19 ........................................................................... 57 CDC Document Outlines Guidance for Reopening of Churches ................................................................................... 59 Reopening Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting Public Spaces, Workplaces, Businesses, Schools, and Homes .... 62 FAQs for Administrators and Leaders at Community- and Faith-Based Organizations ................................................ 68 Think You Have a Strong Plan to Re-Open? Here’s What MOST Churches Are Missing (Based on conversations with 100+ pastors) ................................................................................................................................................................ 72 Congregational Survey Results.......................................................................................................................................... 76 Task Force Meeting Notes & Documents ......................................................................................................................... 81 The Question-Shaped Agenda for CLUMC’s Transition Task Force Work ..................................................................... 81 Question-Shaped Transition Chart ................................................................................................................................ 82 One Scenario for Organizing Our Energy ...................................................................................................................... 83 Shaping Our Task With the End in Mind ....................................................................................................................... 83 Transition 1 Notes ......................................................................................................................................................... 84 Transition 2 Notes ......................................................................................................................................................... 90 Transition 3 Notes ......................................................................................................................................................... 95 Transition 4 Notes ....................................................................................................................................................... 103 PAGE 2 Proposal/Transition Chart Transition 1 Transition 2 Transition 3 Transition 4 TRANSITIONING THE TRANSITIONING CAMPUS-BASED GATHERINGS TRANSITIONING WORSHIP TRANSITIONING CAMPUS-BASED CAMPUS Transition 2 focuses on bringing small groups back to Transition 3 focuses on designing on-campus worship OUTREACH Transition 1 focuses on bringing campus for the purpose of discipleship including the experiences. Transition 4 focuses on either non-CLUMC only staff to campus to prepare following: Connect Groups, Sunday School classes, youth community groups that desire to use the the campus for re-entry. group, Bible studies, UMM, UMW, discipleship gatherings, campus or CLUMC community/outreach 55 & Better, Clear Lake Buddies, handbell choirs, efforts that primarily operate on the CLUMC orchestras, and Wesley groups. campus. This transition will begin This transition will begin when… This transition will begin when… This transition will begin when… when… … Transition 1 has been completed and the campus has … current CDC/government space requirements and … area coronavirus cases have reached a … each building that is occupied been transitioned to accommodate staff safely. occupancy rates allow for worship gatherings. CDC-recommended limit to begin by staff has been cleaned and … CDC, local, TAC, and CLUMC authorities deem it safe … we have the ability, training, and supplies for activities that require greater person- sanitized and there is enough for gatherings equal or above the size of the small hygienic hospitality before worship and thorough to-person exposure. cleaning product available to group. sanitization