GETTING READY #4: Preparing for sacrament meetings to be attended by members in person

 16 September 2020

Dear Ward Council Members...

After this Sunday, Sept 20, your next sacrament meeting will be on Sunday, Oct 11. The two weekends in between will be stake conference (Sept 26-27) and general conference (Oct 3-4).

As you know, Oct 11 will be the first Sunday in which you will be inviting members to attend in person, remembering that only up to 50 individuals are allowed in the building at one time. (Exception: the Powell Valley Ward and Pioneer Branch will meet at the same time because they will be completely separated within the stake center.)

Oct 11 also will be your Fast and Testimony meeting for October.

We remind you of a number of important matters that need your attention before your Oct 11 sacrament meeting:

• Make sure you can use the pulpit microphone in the chapel and still webcast without creating an echo (look to Tom Mueller, assistant stake clerk - technology, if you need help);
  
  
• Complete your member surveys and identify those you plan to invite and determine how you will social distance them in the chapel (families or those who arrive together in the same vehicle can sit together, up to 10 people);
  
  
• Determine if you need to assign different Sundays if you have more members who want to attend than can be accommodated under the 50-person limit;
  
  
• During the week before Oct. 11 extend personal invitations to those who want to attend in person and instruct them on the safety guidelines for attending in person (see the attached stake plan for guidelines);
  
  
• Call or designate a Covid-19 Supervisor to assume oversight that the building is properly prepared for an in-person sacrament meeting each Sunday and sanitized afterwards;
  
  
• Draft a ward or branch Covid-19 Control, Mitigation and Recovery Plan with procedures and precautions that you are taking.

Please reference the attached four-page stake plan for the guidelines and resource material needed to fulfill the above assignments, including drafting your own Covid-19 Plan.

Brother Ira Eldredge, of the Stake High Council, will be your resource for cleaning and sanitizing procedures. Also attached is the Meetinghouse Cleaning Instructions document that you can simply attach to your Covid-19 Plan.

Finally, we remind you this is the next step toward safely administering the sacrament as part of your weekly sacrament meeting—to begin in November or earlier. Our ultimate goal, of course, is to eventually hold sacrament meetings for everyone together when state guidelines allow.

Safety continues to be our first concern so we appreciate you strictly following the guidelines and procedures outlined in the attached four-page stake plan submitted to and approved by the Area Presidency. 

We love you and thank you for your key role in safely leading members back to worshipping together in the Lord's house.

Gratefully,

The Stake Presidency