OPEN LETTER JUNE 28
Dwelling Place Church Family,
There are a few things we want to let you know, especially as they will impact this Sunday.

This Sunday, our DPC buildings will not be open for in-person services. Instead, we will be broadcasting our service into your home for an on-line Sunday. The reason for this is multifaceted, but here’s a brief summary:

Two of our media members have tested positive for COVID-19.  One of them is a staff member and is asymptomatic (meaning no symptoms). Another staff member who was not at church Sunday also tested positive. They are all doing very well. So, out of an abundance of care, we are having all of our media team leaders remain home and be tested. This leaves us feeling more comfortable to run an online service for this Sunday. We have no reason to believe there was spread at church on Sunday (one of them was not even present). As you are aware,  we have implemented social distancing protocol that in some ways is more than required.  We opened up a second venue to spread everyone out and widen our rows. We also have 3 chairs between the family groups, not just the required 2 chairs. This week our buildings have been deep cleaned and treated a with a microbial treatment that keeps killing viruses for up to 90 days. Our buildings are continuing to have UV lights installed to treat all the air being cycled through the a/c units. This is all over-and-above any legal requirements. Additionally, many of our staff have been tested and so far all have received negative results!  (Some of our staff and volunteers have not been able to get tested yet so we do not yet have all their information.) Pausing for this Sunday will allow us to get all results and respond accordingly.  The end result is we will have a smaller staff team on Sunday.  

We want you to know these measures are not legally required for us, but they extra safety measures we are taking to ensure DPC is a safe environment for you. We fully trust Jesus and see no reason to rush. Resting this Sunday will be great for our staff and volunteer families who have been putting in extra hours every Sunday with multiple services!  Let’s embrace some extra rest together as a community, and we will see you on-line this Sunday!

We love you.
-Pastor Randy and Lucie
OUR CHURCH AND THE FUTURE
This has truly been an unprecedented season. We are grateful for the faithfulness of God to our church during the past weeks.  We have not just survived, but we have thrived!  Our people are strong and full of faith, our community is connected, our finances are steady, and our plans for the year are undeterred -- well done, Dwelling Place Church!

Of course, the most common questions we receive concern plans to gather in-person again. I know that every pastor on earth is praying over the same question! The truth is, we have prayed earnestly on a weekly basis.  We have also been in ongoing conversations with not just our leaders and elders, but also legal authorities and other wise pastors from like-hearted churches. Our desire has always been to reopen as soon as we are able to do so in a legal, responsible, and enjoyable way!

I would like you to know that we are aiming for a return to offering in-person church services on Pentecost Sunday, May 31.

We have not been the first church to reopen, which has allowed us to learn valuable lessons from others.  But we are also not near the last, as many are looking to mid-June or even July. However, we’ve been encouraged by noticing there’s much unity amongst church communities of our size also looking to May 31 as a reopen date.  

Please be aware that this is our goal, and the exact details of how this will look is still developing, as the local and global situation is always developing. This includes the possibility of a change of date.  What we anticipate currently is offering multiple, limited capacity services on Sunday. We will follow all social distancing guidelines, including seating people in a manner which spreads out households. To accomplish this without turning anyway away we will have a pre-registration system to help people select their preferred service time and reserve their seat. We will most likely be required to offer a service exclusively for those ages 65+. Additionally, we have already completed major overhauls of our cleaning regimens and sanitation systems, including installing UV filtration to our HVAC system.

Of course, we know many people will not be comfortable to return to a gathering just yet - that's perfectly okay! We are reopening seats in our auditorium for those who want, or even need, to be back at church.  Plenty of people, especially those who are at-risk, should remain home. Please rest assured that we will continue to prioritize and optimize our DPC Church Online broadcast for you.  We anticipate that the return to “normal-ish” will be a long transition. Our online service was here before the stay home orders, and it is never going away. Additionally, many of the wonderful new online additions we’ve made are here to stay!

A note about criticism: This has been a unique time for pastors and church leaders everywhere who are under immense levels of pressure, expectations, and scrutiny. Pastors help oversee a broad spectrum of people. No matter when our church or any church reopens, many people will be approving, but some will be critical. Let’s not agree with the voice of the accuser but let’s be a voice of love to churches in our city. Please, Dwelling Place People, join with us in being encouraging and understanding to the broader church body in this uncharted time.  

Dwelling Place Church, you are the best. We love you dearly. We support you all. We are so happy you have remained connected throughout this time, and we look forward to getting “closer” as we move forward!