Coronavirus / Covid-19 Update

By John Kirker | March 26, 2020

 

Update: 1/15/2022 - Omicron Bonus Round

We are OPEN - But doing Worship Outside tomorrow!

We're all pretty aware of the wide-spread prevalence of the Omicron variant of COVID.  In an effort to try to minimize exposure, but still in the spirit of meeting and worshiping together, we are going to be setting up tomorrow's service to do our musical worship out on our patio (with just the worship and tech teams inside), starting at 9:30AM. Chairs will be available outside for this portion, or you can stand and sing if you like.

After our musical worship has concluded, everyone will be invited to make their way inside to the sanctuary for announcements and for Pastor Seth's message, or you will have the option to stay outside, whichever is more comfortable for you.

As always, we will be live-streaming the entire service, so please do what makes the most sense health-wise for your family.  We hope to see you tomorrow!

 

Update: 4/4/2021 - EASTER SUNDAY

We are OPEN!!

He is RISEN! And we love to celebrate together!  We are fully open, with some modifications for Children's ministry.  Come and worship with us if you can.  We are also setting up outdoors for those more comfortable with an outdoor option, and we are continuing on with our online services.  Happy Easter everyone!

 

Update: 2/14/2021

Open for indoor & outdoor services

We've been waiting for this news!  According the Supreme Court, houses of worship can open to 25% capacity for indoor services!!  We would love you have you join us indoors with your masks.  In addition, for the time being, we will keep the outdoor TVs going for those who are more comfortable outside.

We love you all, and are praying for you regularly.  May God continue to grant us grace.

 

Update: 12/22/2020

Open for Christmas Even Candlelight Service

This has been a challenging holiday season to say the least.  At least some things have a sense of normalcy about them.  We will be having our traditional Christmas Eve candlelight service under our patio cover outside.  Please wear masks, as usual, but come and worship with us!   We will have our acoustic guitar and candlelight service from 5-6pm.

 

Update: 11/18/2020

Open on the Patio - This Sunday - November 22!

As many of you may know, Orange County has been moved back into the Purple Tier, which does not allow churches to meet indoors, in any number, regardless of the size of the venue.  So, we will meet outdoors!!  Starting this Sunday, we will have video and audio set up on the patio.  Come worship with us!!

-Heb. 10:24-25  "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

 

Update: 9/8/2020

Open in-person beginning this coming Sunday - September 13!

We are excited to tell you, that we will be having in-person services, starting this Sunday, September 13th at our usual time of 9:30am.

Background: As part of the state of CA "Blueprint for a Safe Economy" program, Orange County was moved to a Tier 2 risk category, which allows for "Houses of Worship" to meet in a limited capacity. (In our case, up to 100 people.)  So...this Sunday we will have.

  • In-person worship, with live music, where the band are wearing masks/shields.
  • Mask are required for all participants over 2 years old.
  • Social distancing will be observed.
  • A mostly touch-free environment will be created.
  • Hand sanitizing stations will be located in the foyer and in the sanctuary.

CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

In keeping with state recommendations:

  • Kids will stay with their parents during the music portion of the service,
  • Kids will be invited forward for a live "children's church" segment
  • After which, they can move outdoors to the shaded playground for a supervised play-program during the sermon to allow parents to better focus on the message.
  • A waiver will be required for participation in the outdoor play-program.

Of course, if you're not quite ready to join us, we will ALSO be streaming everything LIVE on our website, YouTube, and Facebook sites.

Looking forward to seeing you!

-PCI Staff

 

Update: 8/31/2020

New Guidance from the State:

Hey everyone!  Many of you may have heard, but the state of California released some new guidance on Friday, August 28 that looks like good news for us.  We don’t know exact dates yet, but the new “when a given business type can open” system is now based ONLY on

1) the number of new cases in a county, and

2) percentage of positive test results in a county.

Both of those numbers have been trending favorably for Orange County, which means, even if the Orange County numbers stay AS THEY ARE, we may be able to open for in-person services soon!  If we had exact dates, we would certainly tell you, but Orange County is Currently listed as Tier 1, which means ‘places of worship’ can only meet outside.  Potential changes to OC’s rating (hopefully a move to Tier 2) won’t come out until September 8, so we will let you know next week if we have any additional info.

In the meantime, please save the date for another PCI Worship@Sunset in the PCI parking lot, which will start this time at 6:30pm on Saturday, September 19th.  (We are starting a little bit earlier for the sake of our young families with little kids and the fact that sunset is a little earlier as well.)  We had 65 people last time, and several neighbors that just stopped in and worshiped with us!  We will do the “worship-in-your-car” option for those who would prefer it.  As always, contact [email protected] to make your “drive-in” reservation for the worship night.

Hope to see you soon!

-PCI Staff

 

Update: 7/14/2020

The Church Will be CLOSED again for the next several weeks.

It's been difficult making so much progress toward opening up, only to have the governor close us down again.  Still, the numbers of cases of COVID-19 went up dramatically over the 4th of July weekend and the subsequent week, so we understand his reasoning.

We are very much back into a state of not knowing exactly what is next...which we know is difficult for everyone.  What we do know, is that you'll get to enjoy services from the comfort of your living rooms (please say that someone is at least getting some blueberry pancakes out of this deal) for a little bit longer.

As for small groups, those group that have been able to meet outdoors, or by zoom/phone, or some kind of hybrid will continue to meet.  This includes most of the mid-week life-groups, the book club, and the men's and ladies' bible studies.  Once again, if you would like to get involved, please reach out to [email protected] and he can help you get connected.

In the meantime, there are two things we would like you to think about:

  1. If you know people personally, who have tested positive for COVID, or who have lost their jobs as a result of COVID, we would like to try to help.  Please contact [email protected] and let him know, so that we can try to provide some financial support, some prayer support, or whatever we can do to be a blessing to them.  You are our family, so your friends are our friends.
  2. Prayer is essential during a time like this.  The book of James reminds us that the "prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective!"  He even talks about this in the context of experiencing physical healing.  As Christians we do not always feel like we are "good enough" to qualify for these kinds of prayers, but we are commanded to pray for one another...and pray we should.  Pray for the sick, for our leaders, for the mental health of our children, for the jobless, the homeless, for wisdom, and most of all that the mercy of God would prevail upon the hearts of men.  If you would like prayer for a specific issue: [email protected] is the fastest way to get your needs out to our group of prayer warriors.

We will bring more information to you as it is available, but for now, we'll see you on Sundays in your living room. :)

-PCI Staff

 

Update: 7/3/2020

The Church Will be OPEN Sunday!

We just wanted to send you a little early information about what’s going on this weekend at PCI, in light of some new information sent out by our Governor.  Because of the increase in COVID cases in the state of California, there is new guidance that has been passed along to all houses of worship, which includes “no singing or chanting” as part of public worship services (which are still allowed.)

Since it is our continuing desire to be good citizens, neighbors, and examples, we will comply with this guidance.  That said, Pacific Church will be open for services this Sunday (with masks.)  However, we will be using pre-recorded worship music, and Seth will be speaking to us from the screen.  Mark will also be leading us in pre-recorded communion this Sunday, and we will pass out sealed communion cups and wafers at the entry, so we can partake together.

Well if pretty much everything is pre-recorded, should I come, or just watch from home?

  • It's pretty much up to you and your family!  If you want to visit with other PCI folks, listen to worship music over our nice loud sound system 😊, mumble the worship under your mask, and partake in communion with other folks, then (assuming you are low-risk and feeling well), by all means come!
  • If you just have to belt out the worship at the top of your voice (which is Biblically appropriate, so you're good there) or you’re not quite ready to come back, or not feeling well, then we invite you to join us on our PCI Live Broadcast or on the PCI Facebook page, after 9:25am. (There will be exciting 4th of July trivia on the screen, five minutes before the service both in the building and on the live broadcast!)

Seth will continue hosting the traditional zoom meeting after the worship service for those of you who are staying home, but would still like to catch up with some of your favorite PCI peeps.

Hope you all have a great 4th tomorrow!

 

Update: 6/15/2020

Reopening Confirmed on Father's Day!

God has truly been merciful to all of us during this unprecedented time, and we have done our best to monitor the guidance our state and local governments have been providing.  With great joy and anticipation, we are planning on reopening for live services this Sunday, June 21.  Happy Father's Day!

In short, if you are feeling well, if you are in a low-risk group, and if you are comfortable in doing so, we would love to have you join us in the building this Sunday!  Kids are welcome who can remain with their parents 100% of the time.  We have gone to great lengths to make sure the facility is clean, and we will be observing social distancing and mask requirements given out by our local agencies.  If you're not quite ready that, that's okay!  We will be continuing to offer our services via live stream for the foreseeable future.

For the details, you can listen to pastor Lance HERE.  Things will be a little different at first.  We will NOT be having coffee or snacks yet, so grab some on your way out the door.  We will be taking temperatures at the door, and providing masks to those who don't bring their own.

BUT, we are so excited to see you all and to worship together in God's house!  Please contact Lance if you have any questions about the upcoming services at: [email protected].  See you Sunday!

 

Update: 5/29/2020

Reopening Plans!

Hey Everyone!  We have missed getting together with you all so much!!  Now that the state and local governments have given churches the green light to reopen, we wanted to fill you in on some of the details of our plans, so far.

First of all, the PCI staff are deeply grateful for all your support, your well wishes, your patience, and your generosity as we have weathered this storm together.  We are so proud of many of you who have come to the aid of others by buying groceries, helping with tech-support issues, staying connected with your small groups, and reaching out to one another with care calls!

Further, we are tremendously excited that you have been enjoying the live stream.  In fact, many of you have been sharing it with your friends, family, and neighbors, and we would encourage you to continue to do so!   It’s a little hard to quantify exactly, but it is not an exaggeration to say that we have had at least FIVE times the digital footprint since we’ve gone completely ONLINE.  We’ve even had over 1600 people stop by the livestream for our Easter service.

To be sure, it’s not as much fun as being all together, but the Lord has been faithful.  We feel He is using this time to help us reach some people we may not have reached otherwise.  So, as we make plans to starting meeting together again (and admittedly, this is a bit of a moving target), we have a few things to consider:

  1. Our priority in opening the building is the health and safety of our families, so we want to plan this reopening carefully and purposefully.
  2. From May 31 through June 14, our plan is to continue offering ONLINE services only, BUT with a live worship team leading us in worship from the sanctuary!
  3. The state and local governments have proposed that after this three-week period they want to look at the data.  If the number of infections looks like it is under control, then we are hoping for a soft opening on June 21, if not we will let you know.
  4. The opening will include PCI’s implementation of the CDC safety protocols and strict social distancing.
  5. When we do our soft opening (again, the state will weigh in on the final dates) we will continue offering the same livestream we have been for the last several months!
    1. We are asking that our higher-risk folks (you know who you are) continue to join us online, until we know a little more about the effects of reopening.
    2. Families with children who cannot reasonably be asked to participate in social distancing (perhaps under 10, depending on the child?) please hang in there as well.  We understand how desperate the kids are to see their friends, but encourage them to join us for children’s church, and Zoom with their friends for just a little longer.
    3. Families with very young children (infants, slower-moving toddlers) who can comfortably keep their kids with them at all times are welcome when they are comfortable.
    4. We will be asking people in the congregation to wear masks to the service, excepting kids under 2.
    5. If you’re simply not comfortable meeting yet, we understand.  Please feel free to continue worshipping with us online @ https://pacificchurch.com/live

One of the hardest parts about this whole thing, is that we just miss you all so much!  We are very used to being in community together, and in small churches like ours, we feel like everyone who comes is a part of our family.  Not having kids’ programs (at first) and not having coffee and refreshments in the morning is going to make it feel “not quite normal,” but you have shown yourselves to be very adaptable and flexible, and we are relying on that.  Please know that the staff are praying for your regularly—for your health, your families, your jobs, and your spirits, that God will use this time like a refining fire in your life, to bring you closer to Him.

Please reach out to pastor Lance if you have any questions or concerns about our reopening process at: [email protected]   He would LOVE to hear from you!

 

Update: 4/19/2020

Thanks so much for sharing our Facebook live streams with your friends!  We've had fantastic feedback about the services.  You're all invited to join us as we meet after the services in our zoom conference rooms for prayer, or just to visit.  Check your e-mail blast on Saturday night before the Sunday service for details, or send an invitation request to [email protected].

Stay safe out there!  Keep reaching out to your neighbors and friends!

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."   -Eccl. 4:9-10

 

Update: 4/10/2020

We will have our Good Friday service streaming LIVE tonight at 7pm.

Easter Sunday will start a little early on Sunday morning.  Trivia begins at 9:25am!  So grab a cup of coffee, stay safe, and join us ONLINE at pacificchurch.com/live or on our Facebook page!

 

Update: 3/26/2020

We are continuing to plan on live stream services for the next several weeks...now from the HOMES of our worship pastor and our senior pastor!  To join the live stream, you can click on pacificchurch.com/live or  if you prefer Facebook, you can go to the PCI Facebook page to watch.  Look for the live stream message to watch on Sunday mornings, or in the left column you can go to videos, to see older services.

Also, if you would like more information about getting involved in an ONLINE LifeGroup, we have many groups meeting right now, most nights of the week.  Contact: [email protected] for more information.

If you're having trouble getting online, contact Allie: 949-322-4036

 

Update: 3/19/2020

In accordance with County guidance, Governor Newsom’s most recent release, and our desire to limit everyone’s potential risk of exposure, we will hold ONLINE services only for the next several weeks. Here’s how you can get involved:

  1. Join us for the live stream this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. at:  pacificchurch.com/live
  2. If you need assistance with setting up a live stream to watch/hear the service, we can help! We have a team of people who can loan you devices that are set up for streaming OR who can set up your devices in your own home with the ability to live stream.
  3. We will be setting up a Facebook group for prayer requests, questions, and sharing of needs. Once the group is set up, we will post instructions on how to join.
  4. We are preparing to take ALL of our Life Groups online for the next several weeks.
    • If you are a Life Group leader, Pastor Mark will contact you to make sure you have what you need.
    • If you are in a Life Group, you will receive an e-mail from your Life Group leader letting you know how to sign on.
    • If you would like to join a life group, contact pastor Mark at 949-280-7895.   Seriously, how much Netflix can you binge watch!?!
  5. If you want to help out with needs as they arise:
    • To help with technology: Contact Allie at 949-322-4036
    • To help with food/care: Contact Pastor Lance at 949-233-3703

Let's continue to lift one another up in prayer!

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  -2 Cor. 12:9-10

 

Update: 3/18/2020

A lot has changed in just the last few days, with increased limitations on the number of people that can meet together for "non-essential" purposes.  Orange County Public Health issued what LOOKED like a "Shelter in Place" order, but several hours later the EOC Public Information officer issued a clarification that it was NOT meant to be that kind of notice.  That OC businesses were to stay open (including churches) while practicing social distancing consistent with the Governor's guidance.

What does that mean for us?  Well, we're not yet entirely sure.  Here's what we do know:

  • We will NOT be having a public service this Sunday, or likely for the next several weeks.
  • We WILL have a LIVE stream this Sunday, March 22, starting at 9:30am.
    • It will have music, even if it is just one person
    • It will have a message, even if it is just one person
    • We have set up an online giving button at the top of the homepage, to make giving easier.
    • If you don't know how to watch a live stream, we will have people who are available by phone to help you!
  • We WILL be setting up a way for people to communicate with one another, likely through an free app that can be installed on your phone.
  • We WILL be setting up ways for small groups to meet, via Zoom or other online systems
  • We WILL have assistance for those in our congregation who have needs.
  • We WILL need the help of some of you, to enable us to meet those needs.

Unfortunately, we are still in a bit of a holding pattern, until we get further guidance from the county, on HOW we can do all of this.  As soon as we know, we will pass the information along to everyone!  Also, if anything changes, we will send out another update.

We love you all, and thank God for our PCI community!

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - Josh 1:9

 

Update: 3/13/2020

There has been a LOT in the news about Coronavirus (COVID-19) over the last few weeks. We wanted you all to know what we are trying to do to address the issue in house. We have been utilizing SBC resources and training as well as CDC and CDPH websites to make sure that we are following current best practices for protecting public health.

  • We have increased our janitorial services to include more sanitizing of doors/surfaces.
  • We are providing our teachers and leaders with access to more supplies to ensure we’re disinfecting objects and surfaces as often as practical.
  • We are asking staff and volunteers to adhere to strict hand washing policies, especially where our children are concerned.
  • We are asking our employees and volunteers to stay home and use sick time if they are feeling ill.

As a reminder, in accordance with CDC suggested practices for any flu/virus season:

  1. Wash your hands often, for at least 20 seconds, using soap.
  2. Use hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available.
  3. Cover your mouth and nose if you cough or sneeze, preferably with your sleeve.
  4. Try not to touch your eyes and nose with your hands.
  5. If you are sick, stay home.

For now, we will continue to hold Sunday services at church. You may notice a few differences, including less open food by the coffee, a friendly wave from our greeters instead of a handshake or hug, a little more space between chairs, and more hand sanitizer available. It’s just our attempt at being good citizens to help minimize peoples’ exposure and get past this flu/COVID season as quickly as possible.

We want to worship God together as a community, without fear, and fellowship with one another on Sundays! However, if:

  • Your kids are sick
  • You are sick, or
  • If you are higher risk (older/respiratory comprised), or work for/live with someone who is,

We would encourage you to join us for our Facebook live stream on Sundays until you feel better!  You can access the live stream by visiting the Pacific Church of Irvine Facebook page, or by going to our website at: pacificchurch.com/live.

As a church body, we continue to pray for those who have been personally affected by flu/COVID-19, and for the many people whose lives and livelihoods have been disrupted as a result. No matter how challenging things seem, God is sovereign. As you interact with people around you, we encourage you to be light in the darkness by sharing the hope, peace, and eternal security that only Jesus offers.

Phil. 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

-PCI Staff

Posted in Updates