“… Let all things be done decently & in order”
1 Cor. 14:40
Dear Beloved Brothers & Sisters,
The Church of Archangel Michael & St. Tekla in Brampton would like to congratulate you on the opening of the Church building for families to attend the Divine Liturgy & partake of the Communion.
While we raise our hands and thank our loving God for His goodness and welcome back the return of our beloved congregation, we are keeping your personal safety as our top priority. For this reason, we have set some guidelines to organize the gathering inside the building.
We urge you to thoroughly read the entire document carefully and adhere to all the points below in order to not put anybody at risk of catching an infection as well as exposing the Church to the possibility of getting locked again.
- Stay home and consult your family doctor if you feel any cold or flu-like symptoms, and/or if you recently returned from travel, and/or got in-touch with someone who is infected.
- Always have your (disposable) mask & gloves on, as long as you are present inside the building.
- Upon parking your car, check the 3 available parking lots (North, Centre & South) to keep as much distance as possible between cars.
- Kindly bring all your personal belongings that you might need from the car for the duration you are inside the building before entering. Those who decide to leave, will not be allowed into the building again during the same day.
- Among the personal items, bring your own mouth cover and bottle of water to use during and after partaking of the Communion. Women should also bring head scarves. The Church will not provide any of these items.
- All members of the family must stay together while going from one stage to the next.
- When you arrive, stand in the line outside the Church doors to have your body temperature checked, maintaining social distancing (2 meters / 6 feet between individuals not from the same family). The entire family will not be allowed to enter the building if one of its members is found to have a higher temperature than the allowed limit.
- One the day of the liturgy, only the families invited to attend the Divine Liturgy, as per the families’ attendance schedule will be allowed to enter the building.
- Each family has been assigned a seating area inside the Nave & members of the family will be informed accordingly upon arrival.
- Entrance to the nave of the church will take place only through the two main doors overlooking Hurontario Street, the northern door (formerly, where the men used to sit) and the southern door (formerly, where the women used to sit), depending on which side your seating area is (ie. north or south).
- Go directly to the designated area, after entering the building, through the two side corridors inside the Nave. The presence of all the family members inside that area during the entire service period is mandatory. Continue to maintain social distancing (2 meters / 6 feet between individuals not from the same family) upon leaving that area.
- Follow the signs to guide you while moving inside the building and the affixed floor lines to determine the allowed distances as well as adhere to the Ushers’ directions in this regard. Do not try to have access to areas inside the building other than the Nave where Divine Liturgy is taking place.
- There are locked areas inside the building that you should not use or try to access (except with prior permission from the Priests). The locked areas are the entire basement, the toilets, the elevator, the main corridor of the first floor, the entire second floor.
- Limit your presence inside the building to the period of the Divine Liturgy you are coming to attend and do not engage in any form of social gathering or activities during and/or after the service.
- At the end of the Divine Liturgy, all members of the same family, together, are to move towards the end of the middle corridor inside the Nave and then move eastward toward the middle Altar for practicing Communion. During which, each family is to continue maintaining social distancing from other families. After this, return to your designated area once again, westward, through the two side corridors to collect your personal belongings.
- After receiving Holy Communion and collecting your personal belongings, the entire family will directly exit the building (opposite to the flow of entrance). Do not wait for the officiating Priest to end the service & spread the water. The non-officiating Priest will be distribute the Orban.
- Consider changing your greeting patterns, replacing the direct contact (shaking hands, kissing, or embracing) with remote communication (drawing a smile, gesture on the face, bowing, or waiving).
- Avoid, directly, touching any surface with the your hands. In case of occurrence, do not use your hands after to touch or scratch your face (eyes, nose, mouth or ears) before rubbing your hands with an alcohol base sanitizer.
- Use tissue paper to absorb/control coughing or sneezing, dispose the tissue inside the designated boxes and rub your hands with an alcohol base sanitizer.
- Upon choosing the family to attend the service and before the actual attendance, request from the Priests in case there is a need to use the elevator or the side door for entry (located in the middle floor (R) with the reason and adhere to the Ushers’ directions in that regard (if approval is granted).
- Do not wait in the parking lot after departing from the building.
- Abide by the general guidelines stated by the Government of Ontario in this regard.
- You decision accepting the invitation to attend the Divine Liturgy and partake of the Holy Communion inside the Church will be considered as an affirmation by the family members that they are strictly abiding by all the public health guidelines and that they are not carrying the virus, or the source of any harm to other members of the congregation. The acceptance will also serve as an affirmation by the family that they are realizing the full potential risks during the periods of public health emergencies, including the current pandemic. Accordingly accepting all the possible consequences and irrevocably renounce any claim against the Diocese of Mississauga, Vancouver & Western Canada as well as against the Church of Archangel Michael & St. Tekla in Brampton.
Once again we would like to congratulate you and thank you for understanding the requirements of the current situation.
Heg. Fr. Morcos Hanna
Fr. Michael Dawoud