Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On Saturday, May 23, Minnesota Governor Walz announced that churches may reopen at
25% capacity (which is about 50 in our case), following social distancing and other new public
health guidelines.

With King David we sing:
I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

And yet, much has changed since we last worshiped together. The Board for Lay Ministry
has reviewed the situation, the Minnesota public health guidelines, and the WELS
recommendations for restarting worship; and wishes to announce the following:
1. We will be beginning in-person worship on Sunday, June 7. Initially, there will be
three services. This change is to make it easier for us to stay under the 25%
capacity.

• 8:00 AM Sunday morning worship - This is the worship service which we encourage our more “at-risk” members to attend
• 9:30 AM Sunday morning worship
• 6:30 PM Monday evening worship

At this time, the playground construction that is taking place west of
church makes it impossible for us to have outdoor worship services there
If you do not feel comfortable coming to in-person worship services right now,
please continue to worship at home (virtual services will continue to be uploaded to
Vimeo). We understand your concern, and so does the Lord.
Also, please do stay home if you or a member of your household is sick.

2. In order that we may make sure that we don’t have significantly more than 50 in
any worship service, we ask you to “sign up” for which worship service you want to
attend. You may do so by:

Calling the church office (507-895-4775) during normal business hours
OR
Completing a “sign up” form which will be sent early next week to our
members by email

3. We will take the following precautions in our worship services:
a. in order to show our love and respect for others, the Board strongly encourages
everyone who attends worship to wear a facemask. That being said, we
recognize that: some individuals have health issues which prohibit them from
wearing facemasks and wearing facemasks is not feasible for small children.

You are encouraged to bring your own facemask, but facemasks will also be
available at church.

It is true that wearing a facemask may not protect a person from catching
COVID or other illnesses. But wearing a facemask reduces the risk of an
individual spreading COVID or another illness to others.

Since some COVID-19 carriers show no symptoms and do not feel sick, none of
us can be 100% certain that we don’t have COVID when we come to worship.
So, wearing a facemask is one way that we can show our love and respect for
each other.

b. the entrance doors will be propped open before and after worship so that you
may enter without touching any surface
c. you will be encouraged to use hand sanitizer when you enter the church
d. we will practice social distancing – sitting in every other pew (they will be
marked), with individuals/families staying at least six feet away from each other
e. we will have shortened and simplified worship services and will limit singing in
worship to two hymns – with only one sung by the congregation as a whole
f. we will NOT have hymnals or Bibles in the pew racks (everything will be on our
screen) – please bring your own Bible
g. offering plates will NOT be passed, but will be placed on stands at the back of
church
h. following the Minnesota state guidelines, we encourage people not to visit for a
long time before or after worship (especially inside the church)
i. frequently-touched surfaces in the church will be cleaned between worship
services on Sunday mornings

4. We will offer Holy Communion on June 7 and 8
a. The elements will be prepared in a sanitary way
b. The elements will be distributed in a hygienic and socially distant manner which
will be explained before the celebration of Holy Communion begins

5. We will resume weekday Bible Study on Thursday, June 4 at 9:00 AM with the
same precautions as we have for worship. Please bring your own Bibles.

Once again, if you feel uncomfortable coming to in-person worship, please remain at home
and continue to worship virtually. The virus is serious and there are many unknowns. The
Third Commandment does not say, Thou Shalt Worship In Person. Rather it directs us to
honor God’s word. We will be recording a worship service on Sunday and that will be
uploaded to our church’s Vimeo site later on Sunday or Monday each week.

Serving you in Christ,
Pastor Mark