Re-Opening Plan

A safe, spacious and sanitized experience for you and your family!

ZOOM FREE ZONE AHEAD!

We are grateful for the ability to keep our church community connected by worshipping together through our online worship experiences. Here, at The City Church, we are continuously monitoring the status of COVID-19 and the recommendations outlined by our local and provincial government. After many consultations and extensive planning, we are excited to re-open our building in the coming weeks.

We want to assure you that your health and safety are of top priority to us. We are committed to creating an environment that meets and exceeds our government’s recommendations for safety. We are confident that our phased approach will create a safe, spacious and sanitary environment for you and your family to enjoy.

Phase 1: Online Worship Experience
March 22 2020 – Sunday June 22

  • Church building is closed
  • Online worship experiences available through live-broadcasting and on demand videos

Phase 2: City Team Training
Goal Date = Sunday June 28 – Sunday July 29

  • Limited capacity (10%)
  • Focused on training City Team on new processes and safety protocols
  • No City Kids programs available

Phase 3: Re-Open Building to Church Community
Goal Date = Sunday August 2 

  • Limited capacity (20%)
  • Reservations required for admission
  • City Kids programs are temporarily unavailable, however our Family Pods (child-friendly spaces) will be available

Phase 4: Increase capacity
Goal Date = TBD

  • We will continue to closely monitor guidelines and implement best practices to accommodate more people while maintaining effective safety measures

Please see the list of the safety measures or guidelines we are implementing in our building followed by a FAQ section. Should you have further questions, please email us at [email protected] .

WE CARE ABOUT YOU.

While we are taking every precaution to ensure your safety, we encourage you to make the best choice for your family and situation as you consider attending our physical location or continuing to worship with us online. We will be continuing our online worship experiences for those who don't feel comfortable with returning just yet. We encourage you to continue to attend church online if you or a family member doesn’t feel well, or if you're just not ready to attend church at a physical location. You’re part of the City Church family no matter where you choose to attend!

WE ARE PRIORITIZING YOUR SAFETY.

Here are some of the things you can expect upon your arrival. There will be:

-Single points of external entry and exit to ensure physical distancing is maintained
- A check-in area upon entry, for screening purposes and to gather a list of attendees, in order to ensure appropriate public health follow up can take place where necessary
- Touchless hand-sanitizing stations placed throughout our building
- Rearranged seating for you or your registered family. The new seating arrangement will allow for a six foot separation between families. Members of the same household will not need to sit six feet apart
- Thorough cleaning, sanitization and disinfection before and between service throughout our building. This includes all common touch surfaces, washrooms, and main auditorium chairs

WE ARE CREATING A TOUCHLESS ENVIRONMENT.

In order to create a contactless experience, we will be implenting othe following measures:

- The City Team will interact with you without any physical contact — this means no high fives, no handshakes, and no hugs
- All doors, both internal and external, will remain open or be opened for you to minimize contact
- We have temporarily closed our Coffee Bar, so no food or beverages will be offered at this time. We know — we’re sad about it too
- No giving buckets will be passed during offering. Our Giving Kiosk has been relocated to accommodate more people and safe giving

WE ARE WITH YOU, PARENTS.

Hey parents! We want to come alongside you as we navigate balancing your children’s safety while ensuring they have fun! Like our redesigned weekend services, we’re taking additional steps to keep our City Kids environments safe (and fun) for your children by offering Family Pods! Family pods are a fun, kid-friendly space where City Kids lessons and videos will be played. Please note that one parent must remain with their children throughout our service.

Here are some additional measures we will be taking to keep your kids safe:
- All City Team members entering the City Kids area will be screened and have their temperature checked
- Temperatures will be checked at each check-in station (temperatures may not exceed 100.4 degrees for kids)
- The City Kids lobby and classrooms will be cleaned and sanitized between each service
- Kids will receive hand sanitizer upon arrival to classrooms and periodically throughout service *

CITY KIDS RESOURCES

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER.

We are all in this together. We all share a responsibility to stay informed, be prepared, and remain flexible at each stage of our reopening plan as we navigate this outbreak together. We’re asking that you partner with us by:
- Staying home and participating in our online worship experience if you are feeling unwell, or believe that you may have been exposed to COVID-19
- Reserving your seat for the service you plan on attending
- Limiting the amount of personal belongings you bring into the building to reduce the risk of transmission
- Maintaining a physical distance of 6 feet from others at all times
- Sanitizing your hands frequently at any of our touchless sanitizing stations placed throughout the building for your convenience
- Regularly washing your hands with soap and water
- Covering any coughs and sneezes with the inside of your elbow. Please toss used tissues in the trash before washing your hands with soap and water

General Information

Is the City Church professionally cleaned?

Yes! In preparation for Sunday services, our entire building is cleaned professionally. This includes our main auditorium, lobby, City Kids’ classrooms, City Youth areas, and bathrooms.

Please note that our City Team will also be sanitizing high-traffic areas before, during and after service experiences to minimize the risk of transmission. We have ensured that all cleaning products used are hospital-grade products and meet all government recommendations for effective sanitization.

What about PPE? Will everyone be required to wear masks and gloves?

Gloves

To reduce the risk of transmission, gloves will not be permitted in the building. We have diligently planned a touch-less experience to minimize interactions with commonly shared surfaces.

Sanitizer stations will be available throughout the building.

Masks

As of June 30 2020, Peel Region’s chief medical officer has recommended the requirement of masks in all indoor spaces. We are asking all that enter our building to bring your own personal masks with you. We will provide masks for those who do not have one.

What will the City Church do if COVID-19 cases begin to rise?

We are actively monitoring government-recommended guidelines and best practices to ensure safe gatherings. Should cases begin to rise, our team is prepared to go back to previous phases in our framework to ensure the safety of our community.

I don't feel comfortable returning to the building yet. Will online services still be available?

Yes! Livestreams of our in-person gatherings will continue online at 9am and 11am. Services will be available on demand on our website.

RESERVING A TICKET

I'm ready and comfortable to be in the building! How do I reserve a ticket?

We are excited to see you too! Ticket reservations open on Wednesday July 29 @ 10am.

When can I reserve tickets for a weekend service?

Tickets will go live every Wednesday at 10am for the upcoming Sunday service.

How will City Church control the number of people in the building at one time?

A limited number of tickets will be available for each weekend service. Seat reservation will be required to be admitted into the building.

What ticket types are available?

There are 3 different ticket types available when reserving your seat for a weekend service. Please note, that you must remain in the designated space that corresponds to the ticket type you reserved.

  • Main Auditorium: Be in the room for live-worship and powerful teaching
  • Family Pods: 1 ticket is required per household to reserve a family space in our family pods. Family pods are a fun kid-friendly space where City Kids’ lessons and videos will be played. Please note that one parent must remain with their children for the duration of service.
  • Jr. High: Students in Grades 5-8 (as of September 2020) are invited into this space as they grow in their relationship with God and with others.
Can I reserve more than one ticket type at one time?

Yes! Based on the needs of your family, you may reserve different ticket types at one time.

  • Main Auditorium: 1 reservation = 1 seat
  • Jr. High: 1 reservation = 1 seat
  • Family Pods: 1 reservation = 1 Household
What should I do if I reserved a seat and can no longer attender the service?

Please email us at [email protected] and our team will handle cancelling your reservation. We’ll miss you, but we are excited to catch you on our online service!

ATTENDING AN IN-PERSON SERVICE

What time do I need to arrive for service?

Please arrive 30 minutes before service starts to check-in, get comfortable with the new environment and get the best seat in the house. No seat is a bad seat, if you’re sitting in it!

What can I expect when I arrive?

– When you arrive, please line up by the main entrance. Markers will be placed on the ground to ensure effective social distancing between attendees

– Upon entry, you will be greeted by our City Team who will guide you through a screening process (questions + temperature check) to ensure your safety

– Based on your ticket type, a City Team member will guide you and your family to your reserved space. You will be taken to your seat so that we can ensure effective social distancing measures

– At the end of service, one of our City Team members will provide direction for dismissal to again ensure proper social distancing measures

– Designated waiting areas for the washrooms and the giving kiosk will be available in our lobby and monitored by our City Team

– We ask that you limit the amount of personal belongings you bring in with you to reduce the risk of transmission

What is the screening process? What questions will I be asked upon arrival?

During the screening process, our City Team will ask you specific questions and check your temperature.

Screening questions:

  • Have you travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days?
  • Have you tested positive for COVID-19?
  • Have you had close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 without wearing appropriate PPE?
  • Do you have any of the following symptoms?
    • Fever
    • New onset of cough
    • Worsening chronic cough
    • Shortness of breath
    • Difficulty breathing
    • Sore throat
    • Difficulty swallowing
    • Decrease of loss of sense of taste or smell
    • Chills
    • Headaches
    • Unexplained fatigue/muscle aches
    • Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain
    • Runny nose or nasal congestion without other known cause

Temperature ranges:

Using a contactless infrared thermometer, fevers will be measured using the following guidelines:

  • In children: 38°C (100.4°F) and above
  • In adults: 38°C (100.4°F) and above
  • In older adults: 37.8°C (100°F) and above

At the discretion of our City Team, according to the guidelines outlined by the government, entry to the building may be refused.

What will you do with my information you have collected during the screening process?

We will maintain lists of attendees for 21 days to ensure appropriate public health follow-up can take place if an attendee is exposed to COVID-19 during our worship experience.

What can I expect during the service?

In our Main Auditorium, we will enjoy live-worship and teaching while in a safe, spacious and sanitized environment.

Here are some other adjustments we have made to our services:

  • Altar ministry and prayer will not be offered in-person but will be available through digital text services or through the Live Prayer feature during our live broadcast online services
  • Our entire service will be contactless to minimize the risk of transmission – this includes our greeting time, offering, etc.
Will I be able to give my offering in-person?

Yes! We will continue to offer many ways to make it as easy for you to give.

Giving Kiosk: Giving by card

  • We have relocated our Giving Kiosk to accommodate more people and a safe giving space.
  • Safety covers will be placed on our pin pad machines and will be frequently sanitized by our City Team.
  • Contactless payments will be encouraged and we have increased limits for tapping debit and credit cards.

Giving by Cheque or Cash

  • Because all services are contactless, we will no longer be passing offering baskets throughout the service.
  • Please visit our giving kiosk where you can fill out your information on an envelope and drop your giving in the designated box

Online

  • We continue to encourage you to give online! Our platform is safe, simple and secure. Give online here.

 

How will we ensure social distancing practices while exiting the building?

Our City Team will provide clear direction during dismissal. People will be dismissed one row at a time to minimize traffic at the exit points and to ensure social distancing practices.

Child-Friendly Space: The Family Pods

What is a Family Pod?

We believe that The City Church is a family for your family. We want to do our best to accommodate your little world changers during our phased re-opening framework.

Family pods are an unsupervised kid-friendly space where City Kids’ lessons and videos will be played. Please note that one parent must remain with their children for the duration of service.

Will children be socially distanced in the family pods?

Families will be assigned a specific area within the Family Pod space to ensure that families can be socially distanced from one another. While capacity in these spaces will be limited, we know it can be difficult to keep children away from each other. Parents/guardians are responsible for watching and monitoring their children to ensure the safety of their family and of others.

What will be available in the family pods?

It is our goal to create an inviting and child-friendly space for your family to enjoy. In the Family Pods, your family will enjoy:

  • City Kids’ videos and lessons to engage and entertain your little world changer
  • Individualized and sealed activity packages
  • Non-porous toys
How will Family Pods be cleaned and sanitized?

All City Kids’ classrooms are professionally cleaned before and after each service. In addition to these professional cleanings, our City Team will sanitize high-traffic areas to minimize the risk of transmission

 

  • All tables and chairs will be sanitized with hospital-grade cleaner
  • Used toys will be removed from the room, sanitized and replaced with other sanitized non-porous toys to reduce the amount of contact
  • Activity packages will be individualized. All materials (eg. crayons) in activity packages will not be reused and shared between children.
What ages of children are allowed in the Family Pods?

Family Pods are designed with Pre-School to Elementary children in mind. Students in Grades 5-8 are encouraged to attend our Jr. High service.

Am I allowed to bring toys/snacks into the Family Pods?

Outside food and beverage will not be permitted inside the building. We encourage you to limit the amount of personal belongings you bring into the building to minimize the risk of transmission.

How do I reserve tickets for the Family Pod?

We can’t wait to host you and your little world changer! Reserve space in our Family Pod here.

Please note that you only need to reserve one ticket per household entering the Family Pod.

If other members of your family will attend service in other areas (ex. another child going into a Jr. High classroom, other parent/guardian attending service in the Main Auditorium), they must also reserve those specific ticket types.

RESERVE YOUR TICKET

There is something special about being together in-person. We can't wait to see you!
Registrations will open on Wednesday July 29 @ 10AM

EMAIL US

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us via email at [email protected]