Dear Church 21 Downtown,

After meeting with our pastoral team, we have made the decision to submit to the government’s order (Level 3 – Orange) limiting attendance to activities in a public setting, including rentals for church gatherings, to 25 or less.

Our Sunday gathering will be held online at church21.online.church at 10AM, filmed live from the theater location with a small production team. In the coming weeks, should this situation continue, we will be pursuing various small and local gatherings that are accessible to everyone. Updates will be on our Facebook page, website, and sent by email.

Our pastoral team finds the new health order unfairly discriminates against people of faith in Quebec, as explained in this media statement: Religious Leaders in Quebec Denounce an Injustice, which was signed by our AEBEQ denomination. Please be praying and asking for God to intervene in this mandate.

We ask you to join us in prayer on Zoom tomorrow morning at 7AM. https://zoom.us/j/97315009326

After nearly a month experiencing the joy and fellowship of many being together, we understand this news to be difficult. We trust God and we pray that you will be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. Col 1:11  

Please let me know how we can better care for you during this time,

Jordan Weeks
Local Pastor
Church 21 Downtown Montreal

JOIN US FOR OUR NEW SERIES:

OUR WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

SUNDAYS

**UPDATE: Due to the “Code Orange” we will be temporarily suspending our in-person gatherings and instead starting a live broadcast at 10:00 AM, accessible here: church21.online.church

WEDNESDAYS

7:00 am Morning Prayer Zoom Meeting – https://zoom.us/j/97315009326

NEW? STUDENT?

Fill out a digital Contact Card form to ask any questions you have and to request to be signed up for our weekly update emails.

Watch our Facebook page for the most up-to-date information on schedule changes and events.

If you’re new here, or not connected to one of our City Groups, tap here to schedule a Virtual Coffee.

Prayer Requests can be submitted here.

Resources for Family Worship, Homeschooling, and Morning / Evening Prayer can be found here.

IN-PERSON SUNDAY GATHERINGS F.A.Q.

1. How should I think about those going, or staying home?

We know that we are not all going to make the same decision around gathering. As elders, what we want to guard against is disunity around this issue. Some think that by obeying the precautions stipulated by the government we should be fine. Others think that is too risky.

We want to say this. It’s okay to stay home and keep tuning in to our online gatherings. It is also okay to come to our gatherings downtown. This is not a gospel issue, except when it comes to your motivation.

What motivates you to stay home … or gather? In either case, are you proud about the decision you have made and think that anyone who does anything different is inferior and doesn’t really love their neighbours? Then there is a heart issue to tackle. We will not be the church more when we gather than when we were confined to our houses. But a key element of the church is that we do gather as much as possible.

As a pastoral team along with our staff, we have decided that we are going to start gathering on September 6th. We will have all mandated precautions in place such as social distancing, wearing masks when not seated, etc. We do not want to be risky. We want to be wise, and for those who are able to gather, we would welcome you.

The key to this time is that you do what the Lord wants. Examine your motivations. His will is for us to be a gathered church, but at this moment, that might not be the wisest decision for you. Whatever you decide, your pastors will continue, with help of the Spirit, continue to lead, feed, care, and protect you.

2. Is the Children’s Ministry or Nursery open?

Not yet, but probably soon. Children’s ministries are not permitted in Cineplex at the moment but with schools reopening we are also prepared for a gradual reopening of the Kids Zone. We tentatively plan for a limited Kids Zone reopening on September 20th or soon thereafter.

In the interim, we aim to be providing children-friendly gatherings. We plan on preaching with more accessible vocabulary, shorter sermons, with interactive elements.

3. Should I bring my children to the service?

Yes! We have prepared a family-style worship service for children of all ages to engage throughout our time of worship. We welcome the noise as signs of life in our midst.

4. What safety precautions is the theater taking?

As per our signed agreement Cineplex staff are responsible for all cleaning practices throughout the building (lobby, washrooms, high traffic areas, etc.).

Auditoriums including seats are handrails are wiped down with industrial-grade cleaning products between each event. Touchpoints are wiped down every 30 minutes or less.
All of the auditoriums will undergo a deep cleaning and sanitization every evening. Details are available here.

Cineplex is also supplying the hand sanitizer stands and signage has been posted by them at all building entrances.

5. Do I have to wear a mask?

Yes, in Quebec wearing a mask or face covering that covers the nose and mouth is mandatory in enclosed or partially enclosed public places, including places of worship. A face shield may not be worn instead of a mask or face covering.

Notable exceptions are children under the age of 10 and people with a significant disability that prevents them from wearing a face covering safely (e.g. those with severe breathing or cognitive difficulties or who are unable to put on or take off their face covering without help).

Please consult the Government website here for more information.

6. Can I take the mask while seated?

Yes, the law states that once people are seated in a place where activities or services of a cultural or entertainment nature are offered they can remove their mask.

7. Can I use the washroom during the service?

Yes. We would request that you use the washroom before coming, but understand that unexpected needs arise. Please let the Ushers know if you would like to be seated at the end of a row so that you can assess washrooms easier. This may be especially important in the case of small children.

8. What do I do if I find out I have COVID-19 and attended a service?

Immediately let us know by emailing jordan.weeks@church21.ca and brian.stegner@church21.ca and we will communicate with everyone who attended the gathering the same weeks as you by email. We are able to do contract tracing using the reservation system.

9. How are you doing contact tracing?

The reservation information from https://reopen.church/ will be saved in order to help health authorities do contact tracing. Should someone at Church 21 who attended a Sunday gathering become infected, we will communicate to everyone who RSVP’d by email based on their reservation information submitted.

10. Will we be able to group sing?

Unfortunately not. While research is rapidly changing what we know about COVID-19, mounting evidence strongly suggests that singing significantly increases transmission of the disease. According to experts “[Group] Singing in a room for an extended period of time, in close contact with lots of people and no ventilation — that’s a recipe for disaster”, and has been described as “extremely dangerous and irresponsible”. This is because the way singing has been long known to increase aerosol spread for diseases like tuberculosis. In addition, social distancing and continuously wearing masks do not sufficiently contain the aerosol spread caused by singing, because singers inhale deeply and thus exhale more moisture into the air.

To mitigate against this, we will not be group singing and Cineplex will be running the ventilation system from the ceiling continuously supplying fresh, not recycled air. Only the lead singers at the front will sing, and for a short period of time, further from the audience.

Thankfully, there are other ways we can express worship such as being present, clapping, the recitation of psalms, communion, and prayer.

11. Will we be taking communion?

Not yet. We are looking into self serve individually wrapped communion packets but will not immediately integrate them at this time. For reopening on September 6th we are planning a touchless gathering from entry to exit.

12. Do I need to reserve seating?

Yes. Due to our government’s requirements for social distancing, seating is limited to 100 in the theater. To attend in person services, you will need to reserve at https://reopen.church/r/lQAblqEl. You need to reserve a seat for you and every family member, even if you are scheduled to serve that Sunday. We would invite you to attend our online service if you have COVID-19 symptoms, have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, or travelling outside the country in the last 14 days.

Upon reservation, you will be sent a confirmation email. If you are unable to attend, please click the link in the confirmation email to release your seats to someone else.

The reservation information from reopen.church will be saved in order to help health authorities do contact tracing. Should someone at Church 21 who attended a Sunday gathering become infected, we will communicate to everyone who RSVP’d by email based on their reservation information.

13. Can I sit with people I know & how will social distancing be in the theater?

No, unless you are a member of the same household and have arrived at the theater entrance at the same time. When you arrive in the theater you will be seated by ushers. We do not want people to seat themselves as we are respecting rules on social distancing within the theater.

Social distancing in the theater will be as follows. Cineplex has asked us to leave every other row empty between seats, and two empty seats will be left between each household in order to keep the 1.5m physical distance.

People will be seating starting from the far back corner, down the front. Families can request aisle priority in case children need to use the washroom during the service. Expect entering and exiting the theater to take longer.

14. Will I still be able to watch online?

Yes. We want our gathering to still be fully accessible for those who are unable to attend. The online gathering at church21.online.church will be at 6 PM on Sundays. You can also listen to the podcast. We would strongly encourage you to get connected in the community via our city groups as you do this.

15. Why are the Online services becoming replays of the gathering?

Starting September 6th, those watching online gatherings will notice that a specific separate production has not been done for them. Rather, they will be watching a recording of what has happened earlier during the Sunday.

Why? While we would love to do a separate online production each week in order to deliver the same quality of service online, it is not possible to do this given our volunteer staff and the pastoral team are all bi-vocational and work on extremely limited hours. We are, however, open to doing this with more support, so do reach out if you are able.

16. Are those speaking and leading required to keep masks on?

No, a portion of the law states that masks may be removed if required for the exercising of your profession. We would suggest that when preaching, leading, singing etc. it is required that people see your lips, and therefore you need to remove the mask to exercise your profession.

VISITING OUR SUNDAY GATHERING WALKTHROUGH VIDEO: