COVID-19 Transition: May 14

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May 14, 2020

Dear Cherrydale family,

Thank you so much to everyone who completed last week’s survey on the potential of returning to church soon. We had nearly 300 responses! Many of you also took time to honestly share your thoughts and feelings in the comment sections.

In addition to the survey, we held a focus group via Zoom on Monday with a diverse group of 17 Cherrydale members to explore similar questions on a deeper level.

Here are some of the key observations from the survey and focus group:

• It is evident that you desire to worship and fellowship with one another in person and that you are concerned about loving your neighbors well and protecting the health of others.
• You are eager to learn more about what the plan will be for when and how we will return to Sunday worship. This will better inform your decision on what you plan to do.
• You have been so grateful for our ability to livestream during this emergency.
• There is a good deal of emotion surrounding your decision and some mixed feelings.

Thank you for giving our church leadership this honest and in-depth feedback. It will be very helpful to us as we pray, plan, and make decisions about returning to church.

So please join us in praying. This evening, our elder council will hold a special meeting to discuss how and when to return to church. We are watching the information coming from state and local government officials and seeking input from the medical community. While the state of Virginia enters “Phase 1” of its transition on May 15^th, northern Virginia and Arlington remain in “Phase 0” through May 28^th. (See Governor Northam’s Executive Order No. 62). So, we will not return to worship just yet.

What we can tell you now is that, whenever we are able and decide to reconvene, we will continue to offer the livestream for those of you are not ready or cannot yet return to our church services.

Going forward, we plan to communicate regularly on this blog and via email to keep you informed. Our COVID-19 Information Page will continue to be the main hub for information about our plan and procedures. We will feature a link there to this blog as well.

May God give you peace in His sovereignty in this situation.

In Christ,

Tom Oostdyk
Lead Pastor