Children’s and Youth Ministries Updates
After much prayer and conversation, we have decided to suspend all children and youth programs until next year. We realize this may inconvenience some parents, but we are looking to protect our entire body. With the increase of cases in Madera county, the health of our body is a growing concern and the possibility of putting workers at risk by making them watch students/children who have been exposed to COVID is irresponsible on our part as leaders of Valley Harvest.
Also, in order to continue to have in-person services, we will be strongly encouraging all families to follow social distancing and wearing a mask where this is not possible. This means you should sit together with your entire family, not allowing some members to sit alone by their friends. If you are not feeling well, please consider staying home and watching our services via Facebook or YouTube. While we should not have a “spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline”(2 Timothy 1:7), we should also exercise caution and use sound judgment. We are not afraid of this virus, God continues to remain sovereign, but we should also be an example to the world so that “our light might shine before people in such a way that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father who is in heaven”(Matthew 5:16).
Good news! We can meet in-person again!
Beginning this Sunday, July 26, we will be holding church in the courtyard. We have purchased and installed a tarp to shade us from the sun. We are also going to start services an hour earlier and meet at 9:00 a.m. to, hopefully, avoid the heat of the day. Here are some things you will need to know:
- We will still be social distancing by household.
- Face masks are still recommended.
- There will be no sermon notes nor will the scripture be on the screen, so make sure to BRING YOUR BIBLES.
- While we are going to be under a tarp, it is made of mesh. This means you will most likely want to apply sunscreen before you arrive.
- We will be providing a bottle of water, and access to ice, to help keep you cool.
- There WILL be activities to help keep your children occupied, but Sprouts, Harvest Kids, and Grafted Roots will NOT be meeting.
If you have any questions or concerns, call us at the church office. Can’t wait to see you on Sunday!!
Beginning this Sunday, July 19, we must meet online only again.
Per Governor Newsom’s announcement this week, we will not be meeting in-person until further notice. While you may or may not agree with his decision to shut down indoor worship gatherings, we as a body will comply with the mandates of our governor and continue to meet online only. We are working through the logistics of having an outdoor service, so keep checking back as we will announce any plans we have as soon as we can.
Great news!!
David and Lisa got their COVID test results back: Both are NEGATIVE! In light of this, we WILL be meeting in person again this Sunday. We cannot wait to see you!! We will continue to social distance and recommend wearing face masks.
We will NOT be meeting this Sunday, June 28, 2020
With the craziness that is going on in the world, we should not be surprised when trouble or inconvenience comes our way. Jesus told us to not let our hearts be troubled, or to be fearful, because He gave His perfect peace (John 14:27). This week we found out our teaching pastor, David Lucas, was exposed to an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19. In lieu of this information, we will be doing things a little differently this week at Valley Harvest to safeguard the health and safety of everyone. We will not be holding live services here at our location @ 717 Robertson Blvd. Instead, we will again host online services only. We realize this is disappointing to many, but we want to ensure we do not spread the virus to anyone when we are not yet sure of David’s diagnosis. Our office doors will also be locked until then as well. Please be in prayer for Pastor David and his family as he awaits the results of his test. Also for your peace of mind, we will be deep cleaning all surfaces again between now and any future gathering and will keep you apprised of any new information as soon as we get it. We hope to see you very soon!
Again, to reiterate, WE ARE NOT MEETING AT VALLEY HARVEST THIS WEEK!
Valley Harvest has Reopened!!
It brings us great joy to announce that we have begun holding worship services on our campus since Sunday, May 24th! Since we met on Sunday, we have received some guidance from the CDC and CDPH to help us maintain a safe environment for worship:
Health & Safety Must be Our Priority
While this news is exciting, it does come with some important reminders about health and safety. Due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19and guidelines we have received, here are some things you can expect to find when you arrive on a Sunday morning:
- Doors to the Sanctuary and building will be propped open to minimize contact with handles & closed after service begins.
- No printed bulletin or sermon notes.
- Bibles, hymnals, pens, and offering envelopes have been removed from the pew backs. Please be sure to bring your Bible with you or read the passage from the screen.
- We will not be passing the offering bags, but a box will be available in the back of the sanctuary for your convenience.
- Hand sanitizer stations have been located at every entrance to the sanctuary, in addition to a hand washing station at the coffee bar.
- All self-service beverages (coffee, tea, and water) and food (muffins, granola bars, and biscotti) will be suspended for the time being.
- You will be asked to practice Social Distancing.
What Social Distancing should look like
We request that everyone do their best to maintain at least a six-foot distance between individuals who do not live in your household. This means you should sit only with those from your household. The Sanctuary has been marked for seating in every other pew only. In order to maintain proper distances between families, we ask that you enter the Sanctuary and walk all the way forward to the first available seat. Please do not attempt to find your usual seat as that will only make it harder for us to properly space ourselves. Sit at least 6 feet from the closest family or individual. Face masks will not be required to attend the service, but you are welcome to wear one as you feel comfortable.
Consider Your Health Risks
Each of us must make the decision to worship on-site based on our own personal medical history. At this time, recommendations suggest that those in high risk categories as identified by the CDC should not worship on-site but should continue to worship online. Our services are streamed live each Sunday and can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/valleyharvest.org or https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBt09wVBZVPeVCvn_nfsi1w. If you or anyone in your household is not well, please show your love to the rest of the congregation by staying home.
Sprouts (Nursery)/Harvest Kids/Grafted (Roots)
CDPH guidelines state “Children should remain in the care of those in their household unit and not interact with children of other parties at any time while visiting facilities. Close play areas and discontinue activities and services for children where physical distancing of at least six feet cannot be maintained.” While we stated the nursery would be open last week, we have had to take a step back in that area. Since Sprouts, Harvest Kids, and Grafted Youth are very interactive ministries we will not be able reopen them until we can do so without having to social distance. We understand that sitting in church with a child can sometimes be difficult, it is difficult for us too. We love your kids and being to serve them is a great joy to our hearts. We miss them dearly! All children in the sanctuary will receive clipboards with coloring pages, Bible stories, and different activities for them to do during the service. These activities are intended to lighten the burden of families attending with children. The activity will change weekly until Harvest Kids reopens. Hopefully, we will have a better idea of when these ministries can resume as we continue to monitor government recommendations in the coming weeks.
Other considerations and concerns
CDPH suggests “Strongly consider discontinuing singing”. While we did think about it for a milli-second, we knew that God’s commanding in scripture for us to “Sing to the LORD” was more compelling than the state’s guidelines. Colassians 3:15-16 tells us, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” This same wording is echoed in Ephesians 5, not to mention the dozens of times “sing to the LORD” is found in scripture. We WILL be singing together as we gather on Sunday to worship.
Please keep checking back here often! We will continue to update this page as we receive new guidance from our state and federal governments as we continue to step closer to being open again 100%. Please continue to pray for us and the church as we seek to follow the will of God in this crucial time. Be certain that our ministry staff is praying for you, and we can’t wait to see you back in the coming weeks.
See you Sunday!
Read VH’s initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic HERE.