OLD LYME —The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme will hold a live, outdoor worship service on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 11 a.m.
While recognizing that the pandemic is still ongoing, the ministers believe the local situation has changed enough to experiment with holding a live, outdoor Sunday worship service – while, of course, following public safety guidelines and using the utmost caution. So, on Sunday, at 11 a.m., they will lead a live, outdoor service on the front lawn of the church, from the steps of the Meetinghouse.
If you wish to attend, you must call or email the church office at 860-434-8686 or [email protected] to reserve your space:
- Give your name and the number of people in your party, and indicate whether you all belong to the same household (and thus can be grouped together).
- You will be contacted to confirm your reservation.
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- We will trace squares on the lawn with chalk, spaced 12 feet apart from each other. Individuals or families who make a reservation will receive a square to sit in during the service.
- Each square will be limited to the members of a single household; and people must remain inside their square at all times in order to maintain social distancing. You are welcome to bring a blanket or lawn chairs to sit on.
- The number of squares will be limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- If there are no open squares available, people will be welcome to stand along the sidewalk – spaced 6 feet apart from others.
- Everyone must observe social distancing. While it may be tempting to hug or embrace those you haven’t seen for a while, that’s a temptation best resisted.
- Masks will be required. The church will have extra masks and hand sanitizer on hand for those who may need them.
- The church’s bathroom facilities will not be open.
- While the service is open to all, we urge everyone to exercise all appropriate caution and reasonable judgment about whether they personally should attend.
- The service will be filmed and made available online for those who cannot or should not be with us in person. By late Sunday night or early Monday morning, a video of the worship service will be posted on our website, our Facebook page and our YouTube page – and, as usual, you’ll find a written version of the sermon and the Order of Worship for the service in our Virtual Meetinghouse.
In case of inclement weather, we will communicate 24 hours in advance about how the Sep. 20 service will occur – that is, live and outdoors as planned, or online only.