update about reopening

Letter from Pastor Kel

Dear Water’s Edge, 

            With the pandemic that has been impacting our lives in so many ways, it seems like disruptions to the way things had been are absolutely everywhere. One of the ways in which we have uniquely felt this is with the postponement of live worship at Water’s Edge.  This was not something that was done lightly but rather was done in order to potentially save lives. With information that has been constantly coming out and with what we have learned about Coronavirus and how it is spread I truly believe that we made the right decision. Some of the worst spreads of this virus have come during church functions. We are seeing time after time around the country there are churches that have reopened early and then had to shut down as the virus spread throughout their congregation. There have been reports of people getting sick and even dying because they attended church. As of June 23, 2020 and the writing of this letter there have been nearly 1000 cases of Covid-19 in our county.  Less than 50 have been in our zipcode, which is something that we are thankful for. We also have to remember our proximity to Northwest Indiana. If you include the statistics for Michigan City, Laporte and our county there have been over 1250 cases within our ministry area. We also realize that there have been over 60 people that have lost their lives due to this terrible disease and for that we pray grace and peace upon those families.  

            I write to you today to give you an update. Many churches are deciding to open their doors to live worship again. Businesses are beginning to reopen; tourism is coming back to New Buffalo. With this, I am asked nearly daily on what the plans are for Water’s Edge to reopen.  In meeting with the leadership of the church, it has been decided that as a church we will not reopen for live worship until our state government states that we can gather in groups of at least 100.  At that time, the leadership of the church will gather, and we will make a decision on restarting live worship on Sundays.  It is not all gloom and doom though. We continue to have a vibrant online ministry where we gather for church online every Sunday. We continue to be in ministry to our community, filling needs wherever we can. We are even looking at doing some creative things where we can do some socially distanced events at the church where people are as safe as possible but could come and enjoy some time in the middle of the week.  

            I’m including with this letter a document that we have developed that explains our plans for reopening. We are working towards reopening as quickly and as safely as possible. Our highest priority is to ensure the safety of all that walk through our doors. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me or any of the leadership of the church. Remember, we have not closed, rather, we are living out our mission to connect God and people wherever they are. 

Sincerely, 

Pastor Kel Penny