DRAFT St Paul Congregation Social Distancing Implementation Plan

As at 20 March 2020

Nothing can separate us from the love of God

Romans 8:38,39

Here at St Paul Lutheran Church we are doing all we can to comply with the advice and requirements
provided by the Australian, State and Local Governments, and the advice and guidelines provided by the
Lutheran Church of Australia.
We will practice what has come to be known as Social Distancing so that we can continue to gather for
worship and fellowship at this challenging time.

What is Social Distancing?

Social Distancing is the practice of promoting minimal or no physical contact between people. This is
important to try to stop or slow the spread of COVID-19 (or any other infectious disease).
The current government guidelines limit indoor gatherings to 100 people or less and impose a condition
that people maintain 1.5 metres distance between each other.
As both of our worship services usually involve less than 100 people, and we have a large church
building, we can still hold services at this point in time.
As a commitment to each other and to protect the most vulnerable amongst us we want to follow the
government guidelines.
For the time being and until further notice the following guidelines, which have been developed by the
combined Leadership Council and Staff Teams, will be put into place immediately.
Here at St Paul Lutheran we will do these things now:

 Remove pews and chairs to allow more space between people – we will have fewer rows to
allow more space between rows
 Make sure we sit and stand at least 1.5 metres away from each other (allowing that people who
live together can sit together)
 Wash our hands, or use hand sanitiser gel, when arriving at the church and after handling money
etc.
 Enter the worship space directly on our arrival at the church
 Not shake hands, pass the peace, hug or kiss others, and we will remind others to respect this
practice
 Place our offering in a bowl on the way in to church, instead of passing a bowl around
 Refrain from having morning tea to minimise risk of contact with others, and of improper food
handling
 Keep doors open to minimise the need to touch handles etc.
 Refrain from touching objects in the church and worship space as much as possible
 Leave directly after worshipping
  Support people who become unwell while attending worship paying regard to the health and
wellbeing of everyone present
 Display posters provided by the health department to promote good personal hygiene (e.g. Hand
washing, covered sneezing)

We will also:

 Pay particular attention to the cleaning of toilets, hand basins, kitchen areas etc.
 NOT come to Worship or other events (e.g. bible study meetings, small home group
meetings) if we are unwell and we will support those people who are unwell to maintain
contact with various social groups using alternative means
 Provide resources and information for people who wish to worship at home by following
along with a live stream option or DVD based copy from the LCA resources
 Encourage people to consider signing up to REG or use direct debit facilities to make it easier
to continue giving an offering to the ministry of the church
 Cease holding larger fellowship gatherings, but we will consider what else we can do
 Find out what our members’ capacity to communicate electronically is so we can plan for
flexible options that suit our particular community

We will continue planning:

 Consider creative ways to maintain connections with each other, e.g. using social media, tele-
conferencing etc.
 Plan to worship together for as long as we are able
 Plan for how we might maintain a worship practice if we are unable to gather at the Church
 Plan how we will support those in enforced or self-isolation

Maintaining who we are:

 Care for each other and check in with those at most risk – please talk with a Pastoral
Assistant about how we can support you or others you know
 Help others when and as best we can
 Continue to pray with and for each other, the community and those less fortunate than
ourselves

If you have any queries of concerns please discuss these with Pastoral Assistant, Tim Wells (mob 0417
772 366) or our Chairperson Kate Fox (mob. 0423 085 432)
Prepared and informed by

 DHS guidance on social distancing

 DHS Advice for organising public gatherings
This information is also available in the church narthex.
Attached to this document you will find

 a sign that will be displayed on the entrances of our church

 WELCOME TO WORSHIP
AT ST PAUL
Nothing can separate us from the love of God
We are doing all we can to ensure that we can continue to
gather in this space to worship God and be with each other.
Please ensure:
 that you maintain a 1.5m distance between you and other
people who do not live with you
 Follow the instructions of the ushers and worship leaders
before, during and after the service
 That you have washed your hands or used hand sanitiser
before entering this space
 If you are unwell, we ask that you do not join the worship
service. Please ring the Church Office on 8262 4690
during the week to discuss how we can assist you with
your desire to worship – We have alternatives, we want
you to worship God with us 

Thank you for your understanding and support!

If you have any queries, please speak to the ushers or to the

worship leader after the service.