Everyone is pleased that the Coronavirus case count trend is decreasing each day, as anticipated by our medical and scientific community.  That positive news has precipitated COVID policies and protocols to be relaxed which in turn effects how we as a church operate.  Like everyone else, we are shifting away from an overly cautious approach and back to a more palatable stance.  The following guidelines will help lead us as we look to the future with a bit of hope.

1. Starting Sunday March 6^th, we will go back to having our two regularly scheduled worship services @ 8:30 a.m. for our more traditional service and our 10:15 a.m. for our less traditional service.  We are thrilled that both the Sanctuary Choir and Finally @ First will be participating in the services.  This will be the First Sunday of Lent so it is a good Sunday to get back into the habit of coming to church.  Naturally, for those of you who choose to stay home, we will still stream our 8:30 a.m. service and put it on our webpage @ fccej.org.

2. Meetings and Groups will be shifting back to a hybrid model where those folks who want to be in person can come and sit with their fellow committee members or friends.  Those that want to participate in our church community via Zoom, will be able to remain engaged and active via the internet. 

3. Masks are still required during worship and our in-person gatherings. 

4. Some of the events that have been on hold will resume, like our Friday Morning Coffee Clatter at Martone’s every Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. or our Bridge Club on the 3^rd Friday of every month from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. in the Marvin Lounge.  Our Essex Eats Out program that provides free meals to the community on the first Friday of every month will begin on March 4^th and transition back into production by offering meals to folks who will remain seated and in their cars in our parking lot. 

5. Pastoral Visits will now be open to personal interactions so feel free to invite Rev. Mark or Rev. Josh over for any pastoral conversations or rituals. 

6. Starting March 6^th, our Faith Formation Program will be in-person only and during the 10:15 a.m. service time.  And our youth group will begin meeting in person and go back to the two group format: Junior Youth after church and High School Sunday afternoons.