Spanish Fort UMC 6530 Spanish Fort Blvd., Suite D Spanish Fort, AL 36527 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED STAFF Bill Price Senior Pastor [email protected] Rebecca Rutherford Associate Minister [email protected] Beth Allen Director of Congregational Life [email protected] Bonnie Hariel Worship Arts Director [email protected] Brittney Liebbe Youth Director [email protected] Jennifer Robertson Children's Director [email protected] Beth Bedsole Preschool Director [email protected] Mandy Reeves Nursery Coordinator [email protected] Andy Cloninger Contemporary Worship Director [email protected] GIVING OPTIONS AVAILABLE | • Give ONLINE on our website at www.spanishfortumc.org/giving • Scan the QR code with your cell phone/app • Text SFUMCGIVE to 73256 and follow the link • Log into the Realm Connect app on your phone • Set up a regularly scheduled automatic withdrawal from your bank account, contact Faye in the church office or at [email protected]. • Mail check designated as offering to 6530 Spanish Fort Blvd., Suite D, Spanish Fort, Al 36527 • Drop in mail slot by the church office front door. Thank you for your continued giving, especially during these difficult times. *all gifts are tax-deductible and a year-end giving statement will be prepared for you for tracking and tax purposes. ANNUAL CONFERENCE September 13 & 26 | Bishop David Graves, in collaboration with conference leadership and the annual conference planning team, is announcing that the 2020 AWF Annual Conference session will be held in two parts in the fall of 2020. Both sessions will be held at Frazer Memorial UMC in Montgomery, AL. The clergy session will be held on Sunday, September 13, 2020, and the half-day annual conference session will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2020. A non- voting live stream option will be available to those who are unable to attend on the 26th. All guests and families are asked to watch via live stream this year to reduce the number of persons in the building. The previously announced virtual session, planned for June 28-29, will not be held. Dear Church Family and Friends, These continue to be very uncertain times. I wanted to give you some updates. The Covid Task Group met last week to give further discussion about “in person” worship. As you know our anticipation was to try to open the church in August, but the Covid cases have now increased. So, the decision was made not to reopen the church for now. Our Council unanimously affirmed this decision in our meeting on July 27th. From the outset of this pandemic we have used a month to month process of evaluating and making determinations about reopening our church. One of the criteria used is the CDC recommendations of diminishing cases of Covid- 19. Unfortunately, as noted earlier, the Covid numbers have increased. Simply stated the risks of reopening remain too high at this time. The Covid Task Group will continue to meet twice monthly to assess and make decisions which will also be reviewed by our Council. Meanwhile, we will continue to offer our Facebook live- stream worship every Sunday at 10 a.m. and on the radio on FM 103.3 at Noon. In addition, we plan to continue to offer Sunday evening drive-in services every other week. We will have our next drive-in service on August 16th at 6:30 p.m. in the parking lot behind the sanctuary. This will be a special service as we will have a time of blessing for back to school as well as hymns, a short sermon, and the celebration of Holy Communion. Some of our small groups and classes have asked about meeting “in-person” at the church. We understand the need for greater connection and fellowship especially since we are not able to gather for normal worship services and fellowship times. We are looking for ways for classes and small groups to meet while still adhering to the proper safety guidelines. Group/Class leaders have received a survey to help us with coordination of scheduling of locations and proper cleaning needed for CHURCH INFORMATION Monday - Thursday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.| Friday 8 a.m. - Noon 251-626-1334 | [email protected] 6530 Spanish Fort Blvd., Suite D, Spanish Fort, Al 36527 www.spanishfortumc.org @spanishfortumc Spanish Fort UMC WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP Regular Schedule Traditional Worship - 8:45 AM (Sanctuary, Main Campus) Coffee Fellowship - 9:45 AM (Fellowship Hall, Main Campus) Contemporary Worship - 11:00 AM (Sanctuary, Main Campus) 08/2020 this to happen for those classes/groups that desire to meet “in-person”. Some groups have met or are meeting off campus or in outside areas while maintaining safety guidelines also. We will communicate with our Group/Class leaders when a decision is made on how and when we can begin meeting “in-person”. I encourage your prayers for our leadership. These are very difficult times that require very difficult decisions. This is not only for the church but for our community and civic leaders also. I know we are all quite weary from being apart especially in worship. None more than I. I do pray for a vaccine and more permanent solutions for this Covid pandemic to come quickly. Until then, we are looking to make wise decisions that help us continue to worship our Lord and serve in ways that we can. The Prayer of Serenity is a daily prayer for me. This helps me focus on what I can do, not what I cannot do. I commend it to you also. Grace and Peace, Bill UNIFORM CLOSET | Ongoing | The Uniform Closet will be accepting phone orders only through the church office. Requests for school uniforms will then be filled with what we have available & participants will receive a phone call to set up an appointment time to come to the church office & pick up the uniforms. It is on a first come, first served basis. If you have uniform donations you can drop them off at the church office door from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. For exchanges or returns, you must call the church office to schedule an appointment time. Currently, the Uniform Closet will not have regular open hours /days. Pickup and drop offs will be curbside at 6530 Spanish Fort Blvd., Suite D, Spanish Fort, AL.