As you may have recently seen, New York State has enacted a new mask mandate policy which was effective as of Dec. 13, 2021. This policy states that anyone 2 years of age and older, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a mask in any public building, unless that building limits entry to only vaccinated individuals.
The Chautauqua County Executive has publicly stated that he will not be enforcing this policy. However, in the spirit of walking in love, we will have the following in place:
- We are not mandating masks or vaccines in our building. We’d ask that you wear a mask from your vehicle until you’re inside the building (given our location downtown and the many eyes upon us), but we will not refuse entry to unmasked individuals.
- We will be limiting live stream to show only Pastor Michael, and not worship or any ministry time. For the time being, he will wear a mask while ministering.
- This Sunday is our special Christmas service, and the goal of it is outreach. If you see visitors who are masked, it would be a kind gesture to also wear one so they feel more comfortable and can focus on receiving the Word. But again, we will not mandate this.
- Lastly, if you desire to wear a mask for the entire service, you are of course welcome to do so.
These policies and plans are subject to change throughout the mandate as we feel necessary. In the meantime, let us continue to pray fervently for our government and elected officials (1 Timothy 2:1).