We believe that we are in a position to provide an effective combination of in-person and online options for worship services, so that our entire church can be served while following CDC and governmental recommendations for church gatherings.

Continue Excellent Online Service Options

• For those who cannot, should not, or choose not to attend in-person, we will continue to provide an excellent live-stream of the in-person service. On the website Potomacpresbyterian.org

Service Times and Plans

• We will meet at 11:00am on Sunday mornings.
• On-line registration will be required and capped at 50 people in the Sanctuary with 37 overflow in Fellowship Hall, including staff and volunteers.
• Services will run no more than one hour.
• Services will include prayer, sermon, and prerecorded singing.
• There will be no singing in the sanctuary or Fellowship Hall. We will use the prerecorded music as a time for prayer & reflect on the words and images.
• Communion elements will be placed on the pews in sealed containers.

Physical Distancing

• We will require a seven-foot minimum distance between all families. (Health experts have typically used six-feet as the minimum distance. However, out of an abundance of caution, both state and federal guidelines for religious services use seven feet.)
• People will sit in every other row, with at least seven feet between families.
• Everyone will enter through and exit through the narthex doors, except in an evacuation.

Face Coverings

• Wearing face masks will be required per Montgomery County requirements.
• Worship leaders will remove their masks when speaking.

Health Screening

• High-risk individuals and anyone who is sick should worship online. People most at risk for complications from COVID-19 are: Older adults (those over 60 years old); and those with serious underlying medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and lung disease.
• The church will request that everyone answer the following questions to themselves each time they attend. Anyone who answers yes to one of the following questions should not attend.
  • Have you been diagnosed with COVID-19 and are not fully recovered per CDC guidelines?
  • Have you been exposed to anyone who has been positively diagnosed with COVID-19?
  • Are you displaying symptoms such as fever or chills, dry cough, shortness of breath, fatigue or body aches?
  • Have you experienced any cold or flu-like symptoms in the last 48 hours that cannot be attributed to an existing health condition?
  • Have you traveled internationally or to a high-risk area of the US in the last 14 days?

“Touchless” Experience

• All doors will be propped open or opened by greeters.
• Greeters will offer enthusiastic smiles and waves, but not shake hands or hug.
• We will receive the offering electronically and in offering plates placed outside the sanctuary.
• We will not distribute bulletins.
• The liturgy and hymns will be on the screens.

Cleaning and Hygiene

• Hand sanitizer will be available in the narthex.
• Greeters/Ushers will have sanitizing wipes available to disinfect any surfaces that get touched.
• All hard surfaces will be thoroughly cleaned before and after any service.