Brothers and Sisters of Denton Presbyterian:

As you know, we found ourselves in a dilemma in mid-March. God calls us to meet with him each Lord’s Day, but our civil authorities asked us to cease from meeting with God together (physically) and asked us to meet remotely in order to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus.

We believe that it was God’s will to submit to civil authorities in a case like this (Romans 13:1). Our civil authorities did not ask us to cease meeting out of malice against Jesus Christ or His Church, but simply for the health of society.

This Order was not only given to churches, but also to many of the businesses in our area as well. So, in submission to God’s will to submit to our civil authorities, we ceased gathering for public worship, and gathered through Livestream instead.

Recently, Governor Abbott released a “Checklist for Churches” outlining the steps churches should take as they resume meeting for public worship. We began resumption of public worship on Sunday, May 17th. For the short term, we are meeting at First Presbyterian Church (1114 W. University Drive, Denton, TX 76201) instead of the UNT Gateway Center. We are thankful to First Presbyterian for allowing us to meet in their facility. If our location changes in coming weeks, we will note that here and on our Facebook page.

Here are the steps we are taking and ask all attenders to take as they come to worship together publicly.

1. We will abide by the following recommendations given in the “Governor’s Report to Open Texas” pdf.
   1. We strongly encourage “at-risk” people to STAY HOME and participate remotely.
      (“At-risk” people are those over 65 years of age, especially those with chronic lung disease; moderate to severe asthma; chronic heart disease, severe obesity; diabetes; chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis; liver disease; or weakened immune system.)
   2. We will designate an area in the worship space reserved for at-risk people.
   3. We ask that you NOT attend if you are sick, or have recently been sick, or been in contact with others who are sick.
   4. We ask that you leave at least two empty seats between families (or individuals), and every other row will be left empty. (Family members from the same household may sit together.)
2. We WILL continue to provide Livestream video of the service for those who choose not to attend.
   1. If you are not comfortable meeting together for worship yet, we encourage you to continue to worship via Livestream video as you have been doing.
3. We highly recommend that you wear a mask.
4. We will NOT collect an offering or have the Lord’s Supper this Sunday.
5. We will NOT have a NURSERY available.
6. We will NOT have Sunday School classes or any other Sunday morning activities.