To the Congregation of Temple Baptist Church:
On behalf of the board, I would like to provide an update on our current situation.
Recently, the government of Alberta relaxed some of the restrictions for places of worship. While this is good news, the reality is that the restrictions still do not allow Temple Baptist to operate and conduct services in an acceptable manner. The current restrictions prohibit congregational singing, even if everyone is wearing a mask. Our maximum attendance is also limited to 50 people. When we consider all the volunteers needed to be involved in a service, this would limit participation of the congregation to about 30 people.
We are remaining aware of developments as restrictions continue to be eased. In the next weeks, we anticipate the church office and pastors' offices opening on a limited basis with appropriate health protocols in place. We also expect that smaller group gatherings may begin happening, again with appropriate measures in place. One example is the Life Group Leader training sessions that are beginning this week.
On a different note, the pastoral search team has been busy reviewing applications for our lead pastor position and speaking with potential candidates. At this point, progress is being made and we look forward to hearing from them shortly.
We are looking forward to the day that we can all meet together for worship. Until then, continue to support each other whether it's in person, on the phone, through a window, or online.
In His service,
Sheldon Warkentin
