Over the past few months, our Safety Team has done considerable research into best practices and engaged in conversations with some of our neighboring faith communities. One development from that work is a change to when our building doors are unlocked. This change does not need to limit when congregational groups gather, but it may change how you access the building.

Here are the new hours when doors will typically be unlocked:
Tuesday through Thursday: 9:00AM – 7:00PM
Friday through Monday: 9:00AM – 2:00PM

This is just a default. Some weeks, we’ll have events and activities that warrant having the doors unlocked later than these times. And there may be additional occasions when the doors need to be locked. For instance, we may have staff members away from the building during the day for any number of reasons, and we don’t want to leave the doors unlocked when there’s no one in the building. (Really, the number of people the Safety Team recommends is three. Less than that, and we want to get in the habit of having doors locked.)

If you anticipate needing access to the building outside of our typical hours, we can make arrangements. Some days, we’ll leave the doors unlocked later into the evening if there are groups gathering in the 7:00 hour. We also have a limited number of keyfobs available for congregational leaders.

We will probably need to develop some new habits around responding to the doorbell when people arrive for some of our activities, or having someone stationed at the door to provide access and welcome people. I’m hopeful that by the end of the calendar year, we’ll develop a sense of what adjustments we need to make in our practices. In the meantime, please continue to let staff know what you need to engage in your meaningful ministries with one another.

Thank you to the Safety Team for considering so many different facets of how we foster safety, and for offering guidance about how we can intentionally care for one another and all who share our space.

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