ASBC NEWS & CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
Dear Alfred Street Baptist Church family and friends,
As the COVID 19 Coronavirus outbreak continues to develop, we have made some changes to our ASBC events schedule/calendar. We have made the decision to cancel the following events or activities THROUGH April 30, 2020*:
- Junior Youth Bowling scheduled for Friday, March 13, 2020
- MIT Old Testament Interpretation Class scheduled for Saturday, March 14, 2020
- Men’s Ministry Real Talk Brunch scheduled for Saturday, March 14 and 3rd Real Talk Thursday in April
- Entrepreneurial Ministry’s Who’s Who scheduled for Saturday, March 14, Hen Quarter event on Thursday, March 19, and all April Entrepreneurial Ministry activities
- Associate Ministers Meeting scheduled for Sunday, March 15, 2020
- Tutorial program scheduled for every Monday in March and April
- YAM’s Spiritual Development scheduled for Friday, March 20, 2020 and YAM’s Rock n Bowling scheduled for Saturday, March 21, 2020
- Women’s Ministry Monthly session scheduled for Friday, March 27, 2020 and 4th Friday in April 2020
- March Gladness/Spring Revival scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, 2020
- March Gladness/Spring Revival scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, 2020
- March Gladness/Spring Revival scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 2020
- Marriage Ministry session scheduled for Friday, April 3, 2020
- CAYA’s March Madness Bracket Watch Party scheduled for Saturday, April 4, 2020
- Shred Event scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 2020
- Seasoned Saints Noon Bible Study for the month of April
* Subject to change without notification.
These closures are not due to any current safety concerns specific to Alfred Street Baptist Church. Rather, we wanted to provide our community with some time to step back, rest, and evaluate – given the stress and uncertainty with which we are all grappling.
As of today, Friday, March 13, 2020 we are still planning to have all four weekend worship services, Saturday, March 14 at 6pm and Sunday, March 15 at 7:30am, 9:30am, and 11:30am.
We wish that we could speak with each and every one of our ASBC community members individually. Unfortunately, with circumstances changing so quickly that is not possible and thus, email is the best way to keep everyone informed. Please know that we are reading and absorbing your calls and messages. We may not be able to respond in a timely fashion, but we are listening.
This is a challenging, ever-changing situation. We cannot project into the future, so we are going day-by-day and trying to be as thoughtful and responsive as possible. If a temporary closure is to the benefit of our members/congregation, and in the interest of public health, we will enact one without hesitation.
Since late January we have been closely monitoring daily the guidance of the Centers for the Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization regarding the spread of the virus. Our number one priority is to ensure that we meet the needs of our congregation while also doing our part to keep you, our employees, our volunteers and our communities safe.
Here’s just a small snapshot of what we’re doing:
- We have enhanced the techniques to clean our sanctuary after each service. In particular, we are paying special attention to interior customer touch points such as pews, door knobs and other hard surfaces. We are using disinfectant certified to kill coronaviruses.
- In addition, we are taking steps to ensure the welfare of our staff and volunteers. This includes instructing employees and volunteers who feel ill to stay home and consult their healthcare providers. Any ASBC employee or volunteer exhibiting any signs of sickness are prohibited from working.
- We are urging all employees and volunteers to be vigilant about frequent hand washing and the use of hand sanitizer.
- We are requiring that all employees/volunteers and contractors who work directly with our Culinary Ministry before eating, preparing and handling food to continue to wear gloves and wash their hands multiple times throughout the day.
- We are ensuring that all soap dispensers have hand soap and paper towels present at all times and have signage posted to remind our guests of frequent and thorough hand washing. We have ordered additional hand sanitizer stands for worship services for the added convenience and safety of our members and guests.
- We have canceled all ASBC Village (in home) sessions and meetings through March 31.
- Our Communications department has updated Our Emergency Communication plan for distributing timely and accurate information through all platforms and has set up a dedicated web page on alfredstreet.org.
However, we want to remind you that if you don’t feel well, or choose not to visit one of our four (4) weekend worship services in person, of course we certainly understand. Therefore, we encourage you to watch us live through one of our streaming platforms at alfredstreet.org, social media (ASBC Facebook LIVE), our You Tube channel and/or through our ASBC app. You can also listen to our weekly sermons on Majic 102.3 FM and 92.7 FM radio on Sunday mornings at 7:30am (EST).
Sincerely,
-ASBC Leadership
Below are the number of precautionary measures that we as a staff would like to continue to share with you as a courtesy and can be easily implemented into your daily routine:
- Stay home if you are feeling sick.
- Wash your hands frequently. *Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.
- Disinfect surfaces used regularly.
- Use hand sanitizer.
- Avoid close contact with someone who is sick.
- Do not travel while sick.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve when coughing or sneezing.