Coronavirus: an Important Update
For the latest updates on our plans for re-opening our buildings, please visit our Status page.
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear…
Psalm 46:1-2
A message for all Grace Chapel Friends, Families, and those in our local communities Regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
Church has never been about a meeting place as much as it’s about the people who gather – to worship God, grow in faith, serve each other, and minister in their communities. As we all learn more about the impact of the coronavirus here in Massachusetts and around the world, our first and foremost concern is for the safety of people: those who attend Grace Chapel, and those in our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces that we all come into contact with on a regular basis.
Grace Chapel’s Board of Elders and Executive Leadership Team have spent many hours in the last few days in prayer, discussion, and consultation with medical professionals and infectious disease experts on our best possible response to the current coronavirus outbreak.
With the health and safety of both our congregation and our local communities in mind, our Elders have affirmed a plan created by our staff to move to an online-only ministry model effective immediately, and continuing for the foreseeable future.
In response to the latest developments in the coronavirus outbreak, Grace Chapel is postponing all scheduled on- and off-campus events, meetings, and ministry gatherings. Our buildings will remain closed during this time.
By moving to online-only, we’re not only caring for the most vulnerable among us, we’re reducing the risk of an infected person among us leading to a quarantine for everyone.
What does this look like, both on Sundays and midweek? A few changes, effective immediately:
Our worship and teaching teams will continue to produce Sunday worship services, which we’ll stream online as we do every Sunday. You can access them on the live stream page on our website at www.grace.org/live. While large in-person gatherings are temporarily unavailable, this is a great way to stay connected to church!
We’re working to expand our presence online beyond our Sunday services. We will begin offering more ways to engage through social media and other platforms in the coming days, and publicize them through our app, on social media, our website, and through email.
We’re thinking about the next generation. We serve almost 1000 kids and teenagers every week, and are working to develop online ministry specifically for the younger members of our faith family. We’ll offer resources to help parents have spiritual conversations with their kids, helping families grow their faith together in their own homes.
Our staff has formed into a number of focused Task Teams who are working through the logistics behind changes to all areas of ministry at Grace Chapel: Groups, Next Gen, Worship and Teaching, and Care and Support. We have teams focused on everything from events and operations to giving and offering support to our local communities. We’ll make more information on all of these available as soon as we have it.
The best way to stay informed of new ministry offerings is to connect through digital channels: download our app, follow us on social media, and sign up for your local campus’s weekly email newsletter.
While the challenges of responding to coronavirus are unprecedented for Grace Chapel, none of them are unforeseen by God. This shift to online ministry represents an opportunity for smaller groups to connect and support each other, just like the early church, and much of the worldwide church still does today.
Pastor Bryan has returned early from his sabbatical to deliver this Sunday’s message. We encourage you to join us online, and share our live stream with your friends and family this Sunday for our first fully-online-only worship service. We’re in a season of dependence on God and relying on His good guidance.
For those with questions about funerals or other urgent circumstances, please call our church offices at 781-862-6499.
Helpful Links:
CDC Coronavirus Info Worship Services Live Stream Download our app Sign up for e-News Follow us on Twitter Massachusetts-specific information Ministry Status