Dear brothers and sisters:

We hope and pray that you are staying well, healthy and safe during this pandemic.  We are thankful that as far as we know, due to your diligence in following infection control guidelines, none of our church attendees have been infected with Covid-19.

We thank each of you for adapting to evangelizing, outreaching, worshipping, studying the Bible, fellowshipping, caring and praying virtually.

Since our last update on April, 3, the pandemic has peaked and the government has issued new guidance as the city slowly opens up.   We as a team has been following all the developments related to Covid-19 closely and have the following update:

Our General Guiding Principles:

A. We will balance government recommendations with an extra
   margin of safety and caution and the principles and practices
   of our Christian Faith and our church.
B. We will consider all health and occupational safety concerns.
C. We will work within the law and government guidelines
   since these so far have not had areas of conflict with our
   beliefs.
D. We recognize that our congregations are interconnected as a
   community of families which has members attending
   different congregations.
E. The pastoral team will have input before we finalize any
   guidelines.
F. We will take a proactive approach.  We will anticipate future
   developments rather than only react to present and past
   developments.

Based on the above General Guiding Principles, subject to available human, organizational and equipment and technological resources, we will open the church in stages:

Stage:

  1. Live steaming at church    NOW
  2. Prayer meeting (virtual and in person)       NOW
  3. Cell groups- meeting at church or at home (virtual and in person)
  4. Adult Worship and Sunday School (virtual and in person), use of the gyms, sharing food & drinks
  5. Children activities. (difficult to social distance, keep face covering on, maintain meticulous hand hygiene)
  6. New normal church function (virtual and/or in person subject to ministry needs)

At present, for our church, we shall be in stage 1 and 2 of the above with the lead pastors making the decisions for each congregation with regards to worship and prayer meetings.


Requirements for coming to the church:

Whenever anyone comes to the church, we require that:

  1. They are not ill (no fever, no cough, no shortness of breath, no vomiting, no diarrhea etc) and not have conditions that decrease their immune response. They should self-check their temperature before leaving their home.
  2. They have not travelled outside of Canada or been in contact with anyone with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 in the last 14 days.
  3. They maintain social distancing of at least 2 meters.
  4. They follow frequent meticulous hand washing and hand sanitization.
  5. They wear a face covering.  Usually this would be a mask but using a face shield is acceptable if they have trouble singing or talking through a mask.
  6. They disinfect all equipment after use. eg. Microphones, musical instruments, music stands etc.  Whenever possible each person should be given usage of his own microphone.
  7. Whenever possible, items should not be shared to minimize spread of pathogens through touch.  Eg. Food, drinks, sheet music, books etc.
  8. The maximum number in a group in a room is 10 people.  One of the group members must take a photo (with the exact time and location information in the digital file attribute) of the entire group as a record in case that there is a need for future contact tracing.  This photo must be emailed to info@gcgcny.org.  Privacy will be respected and this photo will only be used for contact tracing if needed.  The person sending the email should have the names and contact information of each person in the photo.
  9. Each person must supply and wear their own face covering.  
  10. The church will supply one face shield to anyone involved in ministry at the church who requires one to sing or speak.  Each person is responsible for disinfecting it after each use, storing it at home and re-using it.  Acceptance of this face shield signifies that person’s agreement to release the church of any liability from its use.
  11. They shall use only the designated entrances and exits.
  12. Church attendees shall not enter into the Grace Nursery School area since they have re-opened and have to follow strict infection control protocol from the government.

If you have any comments, suggestions, feedback or questions, please contact us through info@gcgcny.org.

Grace and peace,
Covid-19 Response Team
June 14, 2020

新冠肺炎應變小組新訊 (2020/06/14)

親愛的弟兄姊妹：

我們禱告和盼望大家在疫情中能保持一切安好，健康和安全。據我們所知，因著大家都嚴謹遵守抗疫操施，暫時會眾中沒有一人受感染，為此我們獻上感恩。　

感謝大家能適應透過網上進行外展、佈道、敬拜、學習聖經、相交、關顧和禱告。　

自四月三日的通訊後，由於疫情過了高峰期，政府發出了重開社會的指引。應變小組緊隨變化作出下列的安排。

我們作出指引的原則：

A. 在政府指引下提高安全措施的同時，應用教會及信心原則，在兩
   間要取得平衡。　
B. 關注所有衛生及職場安全要求。
C. 在不違返信仰原則下，嚴格遵守法例和政府指引。
D. 明白各堂緊緊相連，因為教會是由群體組成，當中很多家庭的成
   分佈在不同堂會。
F. 小組在決定措施之前，會咨詢教牧意見。
E. 採取主動立場，預先作好安排，避免迫於現在或過去發生了的事
   被動應變。

基於以上原則，在人力物力和配套許可下，教會將按下列次序重開場地：　

階段：

  1. 在教會直播崇拜
  2. 祈禱會（現場及網上同時進行）
  3. 小組聚會在教會或在家進行（現場及網上同時進行）
  4. 成人崇拜及主日學（現場及網上同時進行），使用運動場，可分享飲食
  5. 兒童聚會（因難保守社交距離，需載保護面部用品，確保手部清潔衛生）　
  6. 教會新常態（因應事工需要決定是否網上同時進行）

現時教會進入第一和第二階段，教牧將按各堂自己的情況決定崇拜及祈禱會的安排。　

任何人進入教會時都必須遵守下列守則：

  1. 沒有不適（沒有發燒，沒有咳嗽，沒有呼吸困難，沒有嘔吐，沒有腹瀉等等），沒有減弱免疫力的徵狀，離家出門前要檢查體溫。　
  2. 過去十四日內沒有離開加拿大，沒有接觸懷疑或已確診的新冠肺炎患者。　
  3. 保持不少於兩米的社交距離。
  4. 經常洗手或使用潔手液。
  5. 面部防禦用品：使用口罩。若配戴口罩使唱歌或談話有困難，可以選擇戴面罩。　
  6. 使用任何器材後要進行消毒，例如：咪、音樂器材、譜架等等。若許可，所有人應使用專屬的咪。　
  7. 若許可，不應共用任何物品以避免傳遞時散播病毒，例如：食物、飲品、歌紙、書等等。
  8. 每房間最多只可容十人，其中一人必須拍照並記錄聚會的準確時間和地點，照片必須記錄所有在現場出現過的人，以防有人感染時可以追踪傳播鏈。有關照片及資料必須電郵到info@gcgcny.org。教會將確保私穩，照片只用作追踪傳播鏈時用。上報照片者必須同時登記所有相中人的名字及聯絡資料。
  9. 所有人必須自備保護面部防禦用品。　
  10. 教會將為所有因獻唱或領會需要的提供一個面罩，使用後，各人必須妥善保存和消毒該面罩，收存在家備下次使用。接受該面罩同時表示同意接納教會無須為使用該面罩承擔任何責任。
  11. 使用指定的出口和入口來進出教會。　
  12. 不可進入恩福幼兒園設施範圍，因為幼兒園重開需要遵守政府嚴密的防禦措施要求。

If you have any comments, suggestions, feedback or questions, please contact us through info@gcgcny.org.
如有任何查詢、意見和回饋，請聯絡我們，可電郵admin@gcgcny.org
願主賜下恩典與平安。

應變小組啟
2020年6月14日