Hello Friends

The KirkWood Session wants to update you on all the activities going on during this time of worship online and the arrival of Pastor Chris Shearer. These continue to be uncertain times. The apostle Paul, who lived in very uncertain times wrote in his letter to the Philippians 4:6 to “not to be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God.”

Our new pastor, Pastor Chris Shearer and his family, will be with us in early-August and we expect Pastor Shearer to preach his first sermon August 9th. We have wonderful pastors scheduled to lead worship in the interim.

The Session is committed to safely resuming worship at KirkWood but seeing the results in other communities of opening too soon, we are moving cautiously. We thank you for the over 130 responses and insightful comments to the recent congregational survey. These have been very helpful to our re-opening planning. Planning is nearly complete and we hope to begin in-person worship later in July (Any changes to COVID-19 policy in Virginia may affect this date.) On-line and live-streamed worship services will continue for those not ready to return to the church house.

The re-opening plan includes details about social distance seating, people flow, new usher procedures and teams, pre- and post-service cleaning plans and teams, sanitizer stations, entry/exit routes, etc. Every effort will be made to communicate the new worship process to give everyone a sense of what to expect on opening Sunday.

As always, if you need assistance of any kind, call KirkWood’s office and leave a voice mail or reach out to any member of the Session. It is important to stay connected to continue to experience the grace of Jesus Christ. Let us continue to be a Christian Community, growing together, knowing, loving, and serving Christ to make Him known to all.

In Christ
The KirkWood Session