Our Grand Re-Opening

Opening Questions

When are we coming back to our physical campus?

When will the renovations be done?

When we come back to our physical campus, what will be different?

Will there be restrictions?

What will the weekly schedule be?

Before we answer these questions about operations, let us first examine

Where are we going?

How are we going to get there?

In other words, let’s take a moment to examine vision and structure.

Proverbs 29:18 NLT

18 When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

Vision is seeing that which does not yet exist.

Narrative

In December of 2019, following our Christmas Giving Service and unbeknownst to most of you, the Pastoral Team and a few key Staff members commenced a planning retreat in Williamsburg, VA. We met together for 5 days from December 15-19 under the oversight of Dr. Joey Peyton and Sis. Karen Peyton. Our goal was to develop further clarity regarding Newark UPC’s unique vision, mission, structure, and consequent operations. We also hoped this work would lead to a new name for the church.

We thought this work would be introduced and implemented over the next several years of 2020 and 2021. We never saw what was coming—COVID-19—but God did. And what we developed over that week under the divine guidance of our Master has guided us through COVID-19 and it continues to guide us as we make preparations to return to our physical campus.

We will speak of our work often for years to come. In fact, we will be studying a portion of it in our online small groups the 4Q of this year and the 1Q of next year. And, yes, we even have a new name that we will be introducing for your consideration in the future.

In order to understand the answers to some of the questions mentioned at the beginning of this broadcast, allow me to share a brief overview of the results of our work that week in December 2019. It is called the VISION FRAME.

The Vision Frame (display PowerPoint)

COVID-19 Priorities

Care for our neighbor (the larger community)

Care for our members (the church community)

Return to Physical Campus

After over 500 days or nearly 17 months or 1 and 1/3 years, we are returning to our physical campus.

Open House - Saturday, July 31, 10-4 pm

First Service - Sunday, August 1

Digital Campus Transition

This last week of June and the month of July (5 weeks) will be a transition from us using our Digital Campus to our Digital Campus being focused on the unchurched.

Their will be three broadcasts per week

This will allow us to put the finishing touches on our physical campus and will also begin the transition to our new schedule (which I will talk about in a few moments)

Two of the broadcasts will still be focused on us the church

One broadcast will be focused on the unchurched

Schedule

Sunday @ 7 pm

Friday @ 7 pm

Wednesday varying times

Once we have returned to our physical campus in the month of August, our Digital Campus will become completely focused on the unchurched. This will affect the content, the timing, and the goal of our broadcasts and social media strategy.

We will provide the hook, you go fishing

We need you to like our Facebook Page and YouTube channel and share every post and broadcast so that your friends (particularly the unchurched) can be reached. Again, we provide the hook, and you go fishing.

3Q sG (July - September)

Begins the week of July 5

Tuesdays and Thursdays

7 pm

Online using the same Zoom Meeting

newarkupc.info/calendar

Weekly sG

During the 3Q of 2021 (July - September), our small groups will continue to meet only online every other week.

Beginning in the 4Q of 2021 (October - December) and continuing through the 1Q (January - March) of 2022, we will begin adding in-person meals, social gatherings, outings, and service projects. These in-person small group Serve and Play events will be determined by the group in alignment with the rest of the church, but each group will determine the day, the time, etc.

By the 2Q of 2022 (April), our plan is for small groups to be meeting weekly according to the following structure:

Each quarter is comprised of 13 weeks

Each quarter will begin with online small groups that are focused on learning and these will meet every other week for a total of 6 meetings per quarter

The remaining in-between 6 weeks will meet in person and will split the focus between play (meals, social gatherings, outings) and serve (serving in our community)

The final week of each quarter there will be no small groups but the church will have a in-person church-wide potluck following our Sunday Worship Service

Let’s talk about restrictions

Why was our physical campus shut down for nearly 17 months?

Before the vaccines were developed, each person’s individual choices impacted the entire church community (besides the impact of our church community upon the larger community).

While the Pastoral Team is not responsible for each member’s individual choices, we are responsible for caring for the church community.

While our God is a healer, he does not always choose to heal. And we have Biblical examples where, instead of healing, he directed quarantine.

Hence, we shut down the physical campus.

With the development of vaccines and the ready availability of being vaccinated, individual choices no longer impact the entire church community. They only impact the individual and their family.

If you are unable to be vaccinated, you are going to have to develop a strategy for how to proceed with life. We will respect those choices and help where we can.

If you are choosing not to be vaccinated, you are also going to have to develop a strategy for how to proceed with life. We will respect those choices.

If you plan to be vaccinated but have not yet done so, it is time to do so.

We have achieved our two COVID-19 objectives:

Care for our neighbor (the larger community)

Our witness to our community was that we cared for them and would not be a source of spreading COVID-19.

Care for our members (the church community)

While some members did contract COVID-19 (though not from church events), they did not spread it to other members of the church community and no one died.

There are currently no federal or state laws or mandates that place restrictions on our gathering together.

We will not require anyone to be vaccinated in order to attend our events.

We will not impose any restrictions while respecting any measures you take (hand washing, hand sanitizer, social distancing, masking, etc.).

Vaccines are protecting those who have chosen to vaccinate. Those who cannot or choose not to be vaccinated pose no risk to the vaccinated church community members and the vaccinated church community members pose no risk to them.

So, again, we will not impose any restrictions when we return to our physical campus while respecting any measures the individual takes

Sunday Schedule - Service 12 pm (display Word document)

10 – 11 am Pastoral Team Meeting

11 – 11:30 am Staff Arrive and Soundcheck

11:30 – 12 pm Pre-service events

12 – 2 pm Worship Service

2 – 3:30 pm Sunday School

2 – 2:30 pm Guest Reception

2:30 – 3:30 pm

Discovering Newark UPC (New Members)

Discipleship Classes (A New Life; A Growing Life;A Maturing Life)

4 – 5 pm Administration

5 – 6 pm Dinner Break

6 – 8 pm Leadership Development

8 – 10 pm Administration

Remember The Vision Frame?

What are we doing? ALL making disciples of ALL

How are we doing it? Worship Learn Serve Play

Why are we doing it? We are motivated to pursue our mission of All making disciples of ALL by our core values of Word, Discipleship, Honesty, Kindness, Service, and Community. They are our why.

If you consider yourself a member of Newark UPC, we are asking you to move from sitting to serving, from the table to the community.

Acts 20:35 NLT

35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Luke 6:38 NLT

38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

Every week we will ALL engage in making disciples of ALL

We will do this by every week engaging in Worship, Learning, Serving, and Playing

This weekly process of making and being made disciples is motivated by our core values of Word, Discipleship, Honesty, Kindness, Service, and Community

We will live intentionally with purpose and balance. Everything we do will be focused and clarified through The Vision Frame.

Over the next two weeks you will be receiving successive emails and/or text messages referring you to https://newarkupc.info. If your contact information is not current with us, please go to https://newarkupc.info/update-contact-information. You will also be able to find each of our communications at https://newarkupc.info/fyi

Please pay attention to these communications and if you have questions, feel free to reach out via phone or email or … you guessed it at newarkupc.info.

On behalf of the Pastoral Team, I thank you for your faithfulness and commitment. We are truly almost there. May God continue to bless and guide us as we deny ourselves and follow him. Good night, everyone!