Monday, March 21, 2022

Dear Beloved,

It has indeed been a long journey since the pandemic hit us full force in March 2020. I am pleased to share with you the following update from our COVID Transition Team.

We are now ready to take a major step forward in terms of a full return to the Ebenezer Campus. In fact, we just experienced an amazing hybrid, 136th Anniversary worship celebration yesterday!

Horizon and the Fellowship Hall
All social distancing requirements and restrictions on attendance numbers have been lifted.

Pre-registration is no longer required but everyone who enters the building must be fully vaccinated. Boosters are not required but encouraged. Therefore, you should be ready to show your vaccination card and identification whenever you enter for worship, events, and meetings on the Ebenezer campus. We will also explore systems that can expedite this process.

From now through Easter Sunday, April 17, we will continue to require the wearing of masks during events in the Horizon Sanctuary and the Fellowship Hall. We are taking into consideration people’s physical and emotional comfort levels as we transition back into larger spaces with increased numbers for the first time in two years!

As we return to the building, we continue our commitment to include and engage our growing membership outside of Georgia, as well as the Ebenezer Everywhere community. On the campus, we are putting in place some tools for hybrid (in-person and virtual) engagement with the goal of adding more soon. 

We will continue holding our 9 am worship service and re-broadcasting it at 11 am. However, we will host live worship services at 9 am and 11 am on Easter Sunday. We will discern the best time for us to regularly return to, two worship services and will certainly keep you posted.

Ebenezer’s Offices and Campus
Starting the week of April 18, we will return to having our offices open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. Any gathering after that time or on the weekend must be communicated at least one week ahead of time with the Director of Facilities Management, Grady Greer (), and/or your lead clergy staff person. 

All staff, contractors, tenants, and visitors to the building must be fully vaccinated. Boosters are not required but encouraged.

All social distancing requirements and restrictions on attendance numbers have been lifted. Our cleaning protocols will remain in place.

The mask mandate for offices and smaller gatherings has been removed. We also respect and affirm an individual’s desire to continue wearing a mask for personal comfort and safety reasons. We ask that during interpersonal engagements in the office, a request be made as to whether they would prefer having someone wear a mask.

Thank You!
I want to offer a special word of thanks to the COVID Transition Team along with the Staff, Ushers, Trustees, Deacons, Deaconesses, Church Community Builder (CCB) Superusers, the Media Ministry, the Deaf Ministry, and the Worship and the Arts Team. Your leadership and ability to create new and innovative approaches over the last two years has made a transformative difference for Ebenezer. We are grateful for your wisdom, dedication, commitment, and love!

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ….If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” —  1 Corinthians 12: 12&26

Every Blessing,

Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock
Senior Pastor

P.S. If you missed our hybrid Church Anniversary service, you can watch the replay here.