This webpage provides general guidelines for the church family as we have resumed church-related activities. We encourage the church family to apply high safety standards when meeting with others.
If you have any questions, please contact info@cornerstonechinese.church.
This page was last updated October 17, 2022
All three congregations are currently holding in-person Sunday Church services and ministry activities under a mask optional level. We expect most people to continue wearing masks so please be respectful of each others individual health situation. In general, we have a higher percentage of people in the high-risk group.
The Cornerstone Kids program has now reopened and under a mask optional level as well.
While we have gathered regularly with eagerness and gladness of heart, we need to continue to be vigilant and follow our protocols. A Reopening Committee was formed by the Board in August 2020 to work through the nuances and responding to COVID.
The Board and Reopening Committee have agreed to closely follow the Wheaton College Humanitarian Disaster Institute’s Guide to Reopening Church Services. This guide is biblically-based, extensive, and thoughtful in its approach.
The four-step plan* from the Humanitarian Disaster Institute's Guide to Reopening Church Services serves as a framework for Cornerstone Chinese Church's re-opening plan. Currently, we fall under Step 4 of our four-step plan. The Church plan will be in compliance with State and local guidelines.
*Please note that details of this four-step plan are subject to change.
Although vaccinations are readily available, many still remain unvaccinated or vulnerable to the virus or not up to date on vaccinations. Please keep in mind the virus (and variants) are highly contagious and mutating. It is vital to continue adhering to the church guidelines so we can remain open. Help us keep the church safe so we can be together!
Communication virtually or by phone decreases viral exposure. While not optimal for relationship building, direct contact isn’t absolutely necessary.
We have learned it is not absolutely necessary for groups to physically gather week to meet social, emotional and spiritual needs. Consideration should be given to meeting physically every other week or monthly. Virtual settings reduces travel time and may be more inclusive for some.
Be knowledgeable about how COVID-19 spreads and protecting yourself as well as others. We have been entrusted with more tools such as vaccines, masking, social distancing and self-testing so we can be responsible and contain COVID.
Limit meeting times to be as short as possible. Length of exposure increases the risk of transmission of COVID-19.
Upholding high standards requires diligence and effort. Show your love for others as you would to yourself.
Follow CDC and Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines:
Currently, we are not required to wear a mask. However, if you wear one choose a well-fitting one (that covers the nose and the mouth), preferably a grade level N95 or KN95. These masks are available for free in the church lobby.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water is not available, use hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol.
Keep your distance with others to protect yourself.
All participants should self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 before traveling to church. Anyone exhibiting any symptoms should not attend church. If you have any questions about your health or any symptoms, it is safer for everyone that you do not participate at that time. COVID-19 test kits are now widely available
No paper bulletins, Bibles, or offering plates will be distributed. Pre-packaged communion will be provided when you enter your congregation’s respective entrance.
Please refrain from handshaking, hugging, or touching others.
Please do not use the church WIFI during Sunday (during service or bible study). We have limited bandwidth for live streaming and video conferencing.
Eating and Drinking. Drinking and eating is acceptable but please keep it to a minimum and do not congregate. Cafe 12:13 will remain in the lobby offering beverages and small snacks. No food in the Main Sanctuary and chapels. Drinking containers should have lids. Currently, the Fellowship Hall is open for bring your lunch after the Mandarin service is over. Beginning in April we hope to return to a normal lunch environment but with a more distanced table arrangement.
Maintain HVAC circulation when people are in the building. Open doors or windows when appropriate.
All activities are to be limited to the designated areas. Not all rooms are equipped or can be monitored for safety protocols. We also wish to minimize disinfecting work after services.
On Sunday the main large restrooms (women and men) will be primarily designated for Cantonese and Mandarin use and limited to a maximum of three people at a time. The two small individual bathrooms immediately to the right of the stairs leading to the chapels are primarily designated for the English Congregation. The lower levels bathrooms can be used by the Mandarin or English congregation. Disinfecting wipes will be provided for individual stalls.
Follow CDC and Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines, including the 3 Ws (even after vaccination):
Wear a mask (that covers the nose and the mouth).
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water is not available, use hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol.
Watch your distance. Stay at least three feet from others.
All participants should self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 before meeting anyone in person at church or any other location. If you have any questions about your health or any symptoms, it is safer for everyone that you do not participate at that time.
The church building will be available for small gatherings. A room reservation process utilizing a Google Calendar has been created for designated church leaders. All others can make a room reservation directly with the Property Trustee, Phel Yee. You must have a reservation to use the space. Use of the kitchen or other equipment should be discussed with the Property Trustee.
Disinfect all areas of use during and after your meeting. All individuals should do their best to disinfect areas or items they have touched. The designated church leader of the event will be responsible for his/her group to carry out proper disinfection. Wipes and other disinfecting supplies will be provided. We only have once weekly professional cleaning on Mondays, so we must work together to maintain a safe and healthy environment for meetings. Do your part!
We have learned during COVID that small gatherings can build deeper relationships with each other, grow in God’s Word, foster a safe environment for mutual accountability, and encourage one another to love and do good works. We should not stop this good practice.
The risk for COVID-19 transmission when gathering in small numbers is low, provided that all persons are following social distancing and self screening guidelines. The risk can be further reduced by keeping group members constant and within the same age group.
Because COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future, we must make a strong effort to monitor local virus levels and self-test. Self-tests and test locations are readily available. If positive one should be immediately evaluated by health professionals, and self-quarantine immediately if recommended.
We know that risks are often underestimated, and people are predictably overconfident about the control they have over their environment. As church leaders, we hope to instill knowledge, to encourage and to develop behaviors that will create a realistically safe and healthy environment.
We have observes the guidelines issued by the CDC and the Illinois Department of Public Health, especially in regards to social distancing and mask usage. After two years of the pandemic we have entered into the pandemic phase where more responsibility has been shifted to the individual in making decisions to protect themselves and others..
Wisely balance your level of interaction with others. You can still keep the number of people with whom we are in physical contact at a minimum and meeting with the same group of people (who are at the same life stage) to further reduce the risk of infection but meet your social, emotional and spiritual needs.
“They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh...to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” — Genesis 41:35-36
