Good Shepherd Family,

On July 25/26 we started a new teaching series called “Oneness & Witness: Jesus’ Vision for His Church.” During this series we have shared the vision for our next season of life together as a church. As part of it, we moved our on-campus worship services outside, while also continuing to provide online services. It has been a very rich and meaningful time for our church! We are so grateful for how you have responded to the vision!

On the weekend of September 19/20, we are moving our on-campus services back INDOORS in the South Auditorium as we end the Oneness & Witness series. The following weekend, we will begin a new 5-week teaching series called “Gather.” As we move back indoors, we will continue to provide a way for EVERYONE to safely attend any service they are comfortable attending. Our service times will be 5PM SATURDAY and 9AM and 10:45AM SUNDAY.

We plan to follow the guidelines below to gather safely indoors:

  • Remove every other row of chairs from the normal South auditorium room set up in order to:
    • Limit the size of our gatherings to approximately 35 square feet per person based on the size of the auditorium
    • Limit the size of individual groupings to no more than 10 people
    • Maintain 6-foot distancing between groupings
  • Encourage people to sit together with people they already feel safe with.
  • Ask everyone to wear a face covering while inside the building.
  • Ask anyone with a fever or other viral symptoms to worship from home through our on-line services.
  • Create a “touchless” experience as much as possible to avoid the spread of germs (e.g. no bulletins, propping open doors, no shared food or drink stations, etc.)
  • Provide adequate hand sanitizer stations.
  • Regularly disinfect commonly touched surfaces
  • Good Shepherd Kids will continue with the cohort plan they have already been using for the past month. Visit the Kids Page for more details.

The above guidelines are based on a blending of guidance issued by the Oregon Health Authority and the CDC as well as our conviction that churches provide an essential, God-ordained service to our community. If you are not yet comfortable gathering with us in person, and we understand many people are not, especially those with underlying health conditions, we will continue to provide ONLINE SERVICES for you to worship with us at home.

As always, let’s continue to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth by the grace of God. Let’s continue to share our faith, hope and love with a world that desperately needs it.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

Thank you for your partnership in the mission and vision of our church. We love you very much and long to see you!

Your Executive Pastors
Steve Keels, Paul Norquist and Greg Cahalan