Response to COVID-19
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020
In compliance with the City of Milwaukee's recent gathering mandate, sign up slots for services at Grace Downtown will be reduced to 100 per service until further notice. Mask requirements remain for those in attendance, with children three and younger and those with certain health conditions as outlined by the CDC exempt. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter as we express love to our community and those at risk!
Under the City of Milwaukee's newly revised guidelines, we are able to have 100 people sign-up for each downtown service (for a total of 400 slots each weekend) and 30 slots for Grace in the Ward. Due to these changes and to accommodate members, after this weekend the 7:45 a.m. service will resume as one with singing (except on the fourth Sunday, when communion is offered).
Your pastors also welcome any requests or ideas you may have about how to better serve you with the gospel of Jesus during this difficult time.
Again, these guidelines and protocols are in an effort to make you as comfortable as possible--whether that's in-person with us or at home. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible soon!
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
In compliance with the City of Milwaukee's recent mask mandate, masks are required for those in attendance at all worship services at Grace. The only exceptions are children younger than three and those with certain health conditions as outlined by the CDC. The 7:45 a.m. service will remain a non-singing service, with singing included as usual in the other services. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter as we express love to our community and those at risk!
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Under the current guidelines, we are able to have 120 people sign-up for each Grace Downtown service (for a total of 480 slots per weekend). We are also offering Grace in the Ward again, with 30 spots available. In kindness and out of consideration for your fellow members and our guests,you need to sign-up online in order to reserve your spot. Please also note that new this week, the 7:45 a.m. service will require masks and have no singing. It will differ from the 9, 10:30 a.m., and Monday night service. Questions as to this change, please read the following email from Pastor Hackmann:
CLICK HERE TO READ PASTOR HACKMANN'S EMAIL ABOUT THE CHANGE
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Dear Grace Members:We’re open! Yes, Sunday, June 14, we will be offering in-person worship services!
While it is exciting that we are re-opening after all this time apart, there are some guidelines and protocols we wish to share with members so they know what to expect for worship services in the near future:
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Please read this link, which will outline the guidelines Grace will be following for restarting in-person worship on-site.
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Under the current guidelines, we are able to have 85 people sign-up for each service (for a total of 340 slots per weekend). In kindness and out of consideration for your fellow members and our guests, you will need to sign-up online in order to reserve your spot. We will be using the church sign-up website, reopen.church, for handling all sign-ups for worship in the near future. The sign-up will go live Wednesdays at 7 p.m.--watch for an email tomorrow at 7 p.m. with the link for the sign-up! It will also go live on the Grace website, under the Connect tab. You will need to sign up for the specific service you will be attending as well as the number of people joining you. Please note: one slot = one individual, it does not equal a slot per family. For example, if three people wish to join for in-person worship at 9 a.m., you will need to select three slots for worship at the 9 a.m. service.
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Finally, for those who are not yet ready and feel safer worshiping at home, we will continue to offer worship via live-stream at 9 a.m. each Sunday.
Again, these guidelines and protocols are in an effort to make you as comfortable as possible--whether that's in-person with us or at home. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible soon!
God keep you in his care,
The Grace Pastors
Friday, June 5, 2020
Mayor Barrett just announced yesterday, June 4, 2020, that Milwaukee will be entering Phase 3 of reopening today, June 5. Public and private gatherings will be allowed at 25 percent capacity of a business or place of worship. That means we will be able to accommodate 85 people per service.
To take the proper precautions and make arrangements, the decision has been made to return to in-person worship on Sunday, June 14, 2020, while continuing to offer a live-stream of the 9 a.m. Sunday worship service for those who are not yet ready to return. More details for what worship will look like and how to sign up to attend services will be shared next week.
We thank and praise God that he has kept you safe through this unusual time and that he has used his mighty hand to stem the tide of the virus and allow us once again to gather to worship him!
We also thank you, dear Grace members, for your patience in waiting until June 14, 2020, and for making use of the soon-to-be-shared online sign-up!
In Christ’s Service:
The Church Council and Called Workers
By now you've likely heard that Safer at Home is extended to May 26, 2020. Were you a little disappointed when you heard this? If you are anything like me, you were probably disappointed to think it will be longer to spend time in person with family, friends, and your fellow members at Grace. Although we don't know what will happen over the coming months, we know that God is control and will lead us through this trying time. The extension of Safer at Home is one again a reminder for us to not put our trust in ourselves or in this world, but in God. As Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:5-6:
-Congregational President Josh Schermerhorn
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,
for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
- Joshua 1:9
Dear Grace Family,
By now, you are aware of the governor’s “Safer at Home” emergency order, issued earlier this week, in an effort to combat and slow the spread of COVID-19, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. We encourage you to follow the guidelines, but we also want you to know we are able to continue to live-stream our Grace worship services, as worship and religious institutions are considered essential, as long as they abide by the "less than 10" rule and practice social distancing.
As a reminder, at this time Sunday morning worship is live streamed at 9 a.m. via the Grace YouTube channel, with a live stream of Bible class immediately following on the same channel at 10:15 a.m. A pre-recorded midweek Lenten devotion is also available during the week. All services and Bible studies are then archived here on the Grace website, along with worship folders and study guides. Links on how to access these pages are listed below:
CLICK HERE TO HEAD TO OR SUBSCRIBE TO GRACE'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THIS WEEK'S WORSHIP MATERIALS
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PAST WORSHIP SERVICES
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PAST BIBLE CLASSES
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS VIRTUAL SUNDAY SCHOOL MATERIALS
CLICK HERE TO BE DIRECTED TO GRACE'S ONLINE GIVING PAGE
Special thanks to those on staff who organize, produce, and publicize this unique way in which we can receive the comfort and joy of the Scripture’s message of Jesus’ forgiving and life-giving love. Thanks also to the phone-and-texting brigade for reinforcing this electronic message and for connecting with members who do not have Internet access. Please know that your pastors are available to serve you via phone or email.
Pastors Hackmann, Huebner, and Strong
If you have additional questions, please reach out to the following pastors, council president, called and support staff:
Pastor Huebner: jhuebner@gracedowntown.org
Pastor Strong: astrong@gracedowntown.org
Pastor Hackmann: bhackmann@gracedowntown.org
Drew Carter: dcarter@gracedowntown.org
Kevin Becker: kbecker@gracedowntown.org
Josh Schermerhorn: josh.schermerhorn@gmail.com
Amanda Schumacher: aschumacher@gracedowntown.org
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Below are past emails regarding Grace's response to COVID-19. Please note these emails are not current, and simply are listed here to serve as a resource for any questions you may have. Thank you!
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - Grace Church's Updated Response to COVID-19 - CLICK HERE TO READ
Saturday, March 14, 2020 - Grace Church's Response to COVID-19: Update - CLICK HERE TO READ
Friday, March 13, 2020 - Grace Church's Response to COVID-19 - CLICK HERE TO READ