Health and Wellness HRBC

The church is open for the 10am Sunday morning service. All Congregants are welcome though the seating capacity has been reduced to respect the social distances guidelines set out by the Canadian government. The foundation hall is set up with seating in the case where the sanctuary meets the allowed capacity. The services will continue to be streamed on our YouTube channel for your convenience.

Dear Church,

Our leaders have made the decision to continue to "stagger" our services over the next month to make sure we follow government regulations for gatherings of no more than 30%. After receiving information from most people in our church family over the past few weeks and assessing our flow the past 2 Sundays, we have created the following schedule and ask for you to please follow it.

July 5th and 19th - those with the last name beginning with "A" to last name beginning with "M" to come these Sundays to HRBC in person for our Worship Service at 10am.

July 12th and 26th - those with the last name beginning with "N" to last name beginning with "Z" to come these Sundays to HRBC in person for our Worship Service at 10am.

We know that some are still not comfortable with coming and we respect your decision to wait. We do provide sanitizers and masks for all who come and practice physical distancing. And as a new safety measure, singing is still not permissible at HRBC in service times until further notice.

Reminders:

• Please come early, by 9:30am if possible
• No child care/nursery/toddler care will be provided.
• Offering will still be available to be dropped off at a plate entering the sanctuary entrance

Note: for July 5th Lord’s Table – we will provide the elements with a safe process to limit contamination of the elements to those in attendance at HRBC. Those watching online will still have to provide their own elements.

The live stream will still continue so that you can follow our service online as we have for the past 3 months on YouTube or connect through our Facebook Page or website sermons page

Thank you for your patience and prayers!

Your HRBC leaders

Dear Church Family, the following information is for Sunday's worship Service June 28th

Our leaders have made the decision to "stagger" our opening over the next few weeks to make sure we follow government regulations for gatherings of no more than 30% and to assess our "flow" of people through our sanctuary. After receiving information from most people in our church family over the past few days, we would like to invite those families in our church directory with the last name beginning with "N" to last name beginning with "Z" to come this Sunday to HRBC in person for our Worship Service at 10am. (Also, some have connected with Pastor Rob this week about coming and if you have you are also welcome to come). We know that some are still not comfortable with coming and we respect your decision to wait. We will provide sanitizers and masks for all who come and will practice physical distancing.

Reminders:

• Please come early, by 9:30am if possible
• No child care/nursery/toddler care will be provided.
• Offering will still be available to be dropped off at a plate entering the sanctuary entrance

For Sunday July 5th, the following are welcome to attend live at HRBC: Last names/family name starting with letter “A” to “M”.

Also note: the live stream will still continue so that you can follow our service online as we have for the past 3 months.

Thank you for your patience and prayers!

God's Blessing

Pastor Dave

Dear Church Family, the following information is for Sunday's worship Service June 21st.

Our leaders have made the decision to "stagger" our opening over the next few weeks to make sure we follow government regulations for gatherings of no more than 30% and to assess our "flow" of people through our sanctuary. After receiving information from most people in our church family over the past few days, we would like to invite those families in our church directory with the last name beginning with "A" to last name beginning with "M" to come this Sunday to HRBC in person for our Worship Service at 10am. We know that some are still not comfortable with coming and we respect your decision to wait. We will provide sanitizers and masks for all who come and will practice physical distancing.

Reminders:

• Please come early, by 9:30am if possible
• No child care/nursery/toddler care will be provided.
• Offering will still be available to be dropped off at a plate entering the sanctuary entrance

Next Sunday, June 28th, we will have the remaining families in our church directory (from N-Z) join us live for worship at HRBC at 10am.

Also note: the live stream will still continue so that you can follow our service online as we have for the past 3 months.

Thank you for your patience and prayers!

God's Blessing

Pastor Dave

Dear Church Family,

As restrictions are slowly being removed, we are in the challenging stages of how to open our church for Sunday Worship while adhering to the government regulations for such gatherings. Currently, we are only allowed 30% of our occupancy for Sunday Worship. This is approximately 65 people including Pastors, Worship leaders, AV Team, Ushers/Greeters, and Tellers. Over the next few days you should be receiving a phone call from one of our church leaders asking you if you are comfortable in gathering again in person at HRBC on Sunday mornings or if for any reason you are not quite ready yet. You will also have an opportunity to ask the leader questions when you receive the call regarding what opening up looks like. In an effort to expedite this communication I am asking you to read the following information regarding our church re-opening on Sunday worship.

Process

• Our goal is to open to a limited number of people to start (40), plus Pastors, A/V Team and Worship leaders and families), for this Sunday, June 21st, at 10 a.m.
• Once the phone contact is made and information about your comfort level, attendance & number of persons attending with you, ...etc, is collected, we will communicate a list EACH WEEK of those we expect to attend FOR EACH WEEK. We will be following the telephone directory starting with last name.
• For example, a message to this effect, will be provided each week on Friday:

"For the first week, June 21st, the last names beginning with an "A" to last names beginning with a "?" (to be determined) will be able to come."
"For the second week, June 28th, the last names beginning with a "?" (to be determined) to last names beginning with a "?" (to be determined) will be able to come."...and so on for each week.
• We are proceeding this way to try to be fair to our church family so please respect the "list" sent out each week and try not to "show up" expecting to join us that Sunday unless your name is on that week's list.
• On the Friday of each week an email, HRBC Facebook Page post, link on the website and answering machine message on the church phone will also communicate who is "on" (meaning you are to come that week) and we encourage you to use these resources of communication.

Important Sunday Worship Information

Our Pastors, Directors Chair, Deacons Chair, Management Chair, Cleaner, and AV Team reps have met to discuss how we can open and worship in a safe and effective way. The following information has been determined to be our best course of action to provide a safe and worshipful environment for Sundays. Notice, the church will NOT be open during the week for other programs yet.

The safety measures we will have in place, following the government regulations, include:

• physical distancing with markers of 6' apart and seating in the pews 6' apart,
• directional arrows for people flow and signage to remind people to maintain a sanitary worship environment,
• hand sanitizer stations at entrance to building, sanctuary and washrooms,
• optional single use masks for people (or they can bring their own if they prefer),
• no touch process - no bulletins will be distributed nor accessibility to pew materials/books (so bring your own Bible, pen, note paper, etc...),
• no personal contact process - no hugging nor hand shaking. Please respect physical distancing...please respect people's comfort levels,
• no access to certain parts of the building including the Foundation Hall, kitchen, choir/board room, 2nd floor rooms and C.E. Wing (with the exception of the accessible washroom on the main floor),
• no children's ministries nor nursery/toddler room care - children will sit with their families and remain seated for service,
• ushers/greeters will seat people to make sure physical distancing measures are upheld in the sanctuary and to maximize the number of people we can seat,
• offering plates will be available at sanctuary entrance to receive church offerings. People are also reminded of available ways to give through our PAR program or Electronic Funds Transfer. Saturday offering process will also continue as usual.
• washrooms are available but only the one in the Foyer and the accessible one in the lower hallway,
• we are still live streaming but there will be a "no video zone" for children/families of children or others who prefer NOT to be viewed on camera. This is a legal requirement to not have children live streamed without permission by their parent(s) in an effort to protect them.
• we recommend people arrive by 9:30am, as seating will take slightly longer,
• finally, remember that if people are feeling unwell, please stay home and don't "tough it out". This is no time to take unnecessary chances.
• we will still be live streaming services at 10 am on YouTube as per usual so that people can still view us at home if they need to.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the church office, Pastor Rob or Pastor Dave at any time.

Thank You for your patience. Continue to pray for our church family, and other churches who are beginning to open, that God's Word will move powerfully through our people and into our community!

In Christ's Name,

Pastor Dave.

Dear Church Family,

Praise the Lord that we can see the government has announced the plan to lift SOME of the restrictions for our gatherings! This is one step closer to us opening our services, BUT we are not there yet!

I know many of us are anxious to meet together again in person but please remain patient as our leaders look at the decisions, logistics and plan formulation that is now required with the updated government restrictions. We are NOT yet open for worship in person at HRBC! So please do NOT come to our church location Sunday morning until we are ready, have a plan in place and can communicate the plan with our church family.

Please note that we will still be live streaming the service at 10am each Sunday. You can connect with us via the link at our website or subscribe to our YouTube account at Harmony Road Baptist Church. God bless you and thank you for your continued patience.

God's Blessing

Dear Faithful Partner of Hope Awaits Ministries,

With COVID-19 rippling through our world, and due to the nature of work done at Hope Awaits, a number of our current staff and volunteers have had to self-isolate, leaving the ministry with a critical staff shortage. It is because of this that we have had to make the difficult decision to temporarily restructure our operations.

What Does Restructuring Mean?

• As of April 18, 2020 we will be temporarily closing the house
• Temporarily reducing our present staff to a core team
• Maintaining contact, care, and ministry with the current clients off-site and through phone and email
• Maintaining the basic operations of the building and ministry so that we remain functional and ready to re-open

Strengthening of the ministry through:

• Continued fundraising drives
• Staff hiring initiatives
• Church and community integration and involvement
• Creating a plan to re-open
• Maintaining communications with donors, churches, and the community

Please pray for:

• Housing to be found for the men currently residing at Hope Awaits
• Continued connection between the ministry and the men that we serve
• Safety and health of the clients, staff, and volunteers in light of present conditions
• Provision of staff and volunteers
• An increase in financial support to not only maintain, but strengthen Hope Awaits to carry the load of the mission

We greatly appreciate your continued prayer and financial support as we continue to run the facility and build the ministry. We will provide timely updates via email, our Facebook page, and on our website to keep you informed of changes.

Sincerely,

Nicole Millage - Executive Director

Dear Church Family,

This is to let you know that in consultation with Cristian from The Lighthouse Project in the DR and Sheila our International Teams Canada Partner, that with the ongoing safety restrictions and concerns over the spreading Covid-19, we have decided to cancel our Experience that was to take place May 8-15. The Dominican Republic has shut down all factories, manufacturing facilities, and schools and have imposed a 6pm curfew. Even The Lighthouse Project where we stay has been closed until mid-late April. In light of these events, plus the shutting down of borer crossings in the US (Florida was to be our transfer location), we think it is wise for us not to go at this time for the safety of our team and their families as well as the community in the DR in which we serve. In several discussions I have heard how desperate the situation is for the communities in which they serve , especially in Villa Altagracia. The Lighthouse continues to process clean drinking water only, for the aid to communities and do not expect to have any teams come until August at earliest. Their ministry focus has now shifted to providing food for very needy families in Villa Altagracia who are literally looking for their next meal. With the shut down of so much, many do not have the small income they were receiving before the virus hit. In a video this week, Felix stated they had served 250 families with rice, beans, oil and other basics in this community. Their ministry is now focused on raising funds for orders of food to be delivered by truck.

After much prayer and deliberation we have decided as a team to help them even if we cannot be their physically. We are planning on sending the funds raised both personally and through HRBC to their ministry so that they can order food for their community. It costs about $20 US to give a bag of needy food to a family and we feel with no short term possibility of going, we would help in the best way possible for NOW. I have been in contact with many different church leaders and they have shared their support of this as it keeps in the spirit of the purpose of the team going - to serve the people of the DR. Thus far, there has been raised about $6,000 CAD for the team, not inlcuding personal amounts raised/paid which would also be sent. There is nothing that speaks so strongly of their sacrificial love than for the team to send this to the DR. We pray that God will use this to sustain families through the next few months and that it will be a witness to their community of God's sacrificial love.

Our team is still planning on going at some point in the future when the path is clear. Thank you for your support which now looks like a relief ministry for people who are in need.

As mentioned this past Sunday March 15th, we want to keep you updated to the Church’s position as it relates to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) as the circumstances are in a state of constant change. In the last days, the Directors, Deacons and Management Boards, along with Pastor Dave, have discussed how best to handle this situation. We are all in agreement that, based on the announcement made March 17th by the Premier of the Province of Ontario declaring a state of emergency, the decision has been made to postpone Sunday Services until further notice effective immediately.

Pastor Dave, the Deacons and the A/V team are working together to arrange a live stream of the weekly Sermon and Prayer time. God has blessed us with very a willing and able Tech Team led by Bob Everinghamh who are working very hard to provide a top quality broadcast for our church family. There will be no bulletin this week but a sermon outline will be provided online. To livestream the sermon and prayer time for this week, please follow the link at the bottom of this page, or check our facebook page for the most up to date sermon links. The sermon outline and prayer list will also be available on our site as per usual. PLEASE NOTE: THE SERVICE TIME WILL BE 10:00 a.m. so tune in to the livestream at about 9:55 a.m.

Also to note, we are updating the status of all programs within the church as to the following; all children's and youth ministries and programs, including Junior Church, Sunday School, and mid-week programs are postponed until further notice. In addition ALL other programs, including Young at Heart, Ladies Craft Group, mid-week Bible Studies, Board meetings, Choir etc… that would normally occur at HRBC, including all External Groups that use our Church, will be postponed until further notice.

What we ask you to do as part of the Church Family is to reach out to each other to offer support and encouragement online or through phone calls. Also, if you have recently travelled outside of Canada and have returned home, please place yourself in self-isolation so that you protect not only yourself, but also those around you. If you know of someone in the Church Family who does not have access to email to see this update please contact them to inform them of this accordingly.

We appreciate and thank you for your patience at this time and ask for your continued prayers as we work through these circumstances together as a church family.

The events of this past week has caught everyone’s attention as it relates to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) as it is in constant change. In the last day(s) the leadership team and Pastor Dave have discussed how best to handle the situation as we feel that we need to act responsibly as it relates to our church family and the community.

The decision at this point in time is that in order to promote safety of all people, we will follow the lead of the Ministry of Education regarding the school closures (and many other churches). Therefore effective Sunday March 15th, we will be cancelling all children ministries and programs including Junior Church, Sunday School, mid-week programs and Jr. and Sr. High Programs for the next 3 weeks. In addition ALL other programs, Young at Heart, Ladies Craft Group, Bible Studies, Board meetings, etc… that would occur at HRBC and External Groups that use our Church will be cancelled for the next 3 weeks.

Starting this Sunday March 15th we will continue with our 2 services at normal times however Nursery/Toddler room ministry will not be available. We want to encourage families with young children and vulnerable adults (age, health conditions, etc…) to use the new live steaming service which our A/V team has made available using Facebook starting this Sunday. Below we have included the email that was sent out on Friday about this service. We will continue to monitor updates and directions from the three levels of health authorities and will communicate any further changes to you.

We appreciate and thank you for your patience at this time and ask for your continued prayers as we work through these circumstances together as a church family.