As of May 20, 2021
Based on current CDC recommendations, masks are no longer required indoors for fully vaccinated individuals. Masks continue to be recommended for unvaccinated individuals. Please be considerate of those who desire to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing.
Your Elders,
Matthew Vail, Mark Bundy, Paul Matherne and Ambrose Ramsey
As of March 17, 2021
As we progress along through the COVID pandemic and some regulations have been lessened by our Governor, we have decided to make some physical changes in our church building. Our sanctuary chairs have been moved back to rows with physical distancing in place between rows. The member pictures have been removed. This means there is no assigned seating. That being said, we ask that you leave 2 or 3 chair spaces between your family and another not in your household. There will be some seating in the very back for those not comfortable sitting in rows just yet.
We have also reconstructed our fellowship area with tables and chairs. The couches in the foyer and fellowship area are free to use at your discretion.
We do still ask that you continue to wear your masks or facial coverings when inside the church building.
While we are still cautious of COVID and protecting our members, we feel these steps can be taken and we can continue to keep our members healthy with your help
As of January 12, 2021
Gov. John Bel Edwards extended his modified Phase 2 order, keeping COVID mitigation measures in place for another 28 days, and strongly recommended that all businesses in Louisiana move to remote work for as many employees as possible, as COVID cases and hospitalizations surge in Louisiana. The Governor's statewide mask mandate also stays in place.
As of October 11, 2020
Nursery Reopening- This Sunday, October 18th
The church nursery will be reopened during services beginning this Sunday. The nursery will not be staffed and parents are expected to stay with their children. Nursery ages are strictly from infant- 3 years at this time. Some smaller toys will be removed to make cleaning easier. The nursery will be thoroughly sanitized weekly.
As of July 13, 2020
As of June 6, 2020
Louisiana has now entered Phase 2 of reopening. Our guidelines will remain the same as stated below. The only item that has changed in reference to places of worship during Phase 2 is capacity limits increase to 50%. Our capacity at 50% is 242 persons. We are still practicing social distancing and cleaning often. We hope you’ll be back soon!
As of May 13, 2020
After time spent in prayer and careful review of the Louisiana “Open Safely” guidelines for churches in Phase 1, the leadership met and decided on a plan to offer both “in-person” and “online” worship services beginning May 17, 2020. Below is a summary of the details…
Louisiana “Open Safely”
Worship services will continue to be streamed on “Facebook Live” for those that continue to shelter in place.
High risk individuals, those who are not feeling well, or those who may not feel comfortable meeting together again just yet should stay home.
In-person worship services will begin Sunday, May 17th at 10:30am adhering to social distancing guidelines.
There will be no bible classes on Sunday in the current Phase 1.
There will be no nursery or Wee Worship in the current Phase 1.
There will be no small groups meeting in the current Phase 1.
There will be no Wednesday night services in the current Phase 1.
We ask that you wait in your vehicle or stand on the marked lines as a family while waiting to enter church so that we can enter in an orderly fashion while still practicing social distancing.
We will have 2 designated “crowd managers”. They will be gloved and masked. One crowd manager will be stationed at the front door to open the door and minimize contact with a communal surface. The other crowd manager will be stationed in the fellowship area. These crowd managers are responsible for monitoring for safety, social distancing and guiding you to your assigned seating.
Masks are strongly encouraged for the safety and comfort level of all that attend. (Note: Singing projects particles farther than just speaking) The CDC has not recommended masks for children under 2.
Communion and Offering
Individual, pre-packaged communion bread and juice will be available behind each chair for you. The communion will be handled only by Bethany Lerille and she will be gloved and masked each week while it is distributed. We ask that you take your trash with you when you leave and there will be trash cans by the front door to throw away your used communion cups.
During our offering time, a song will be played, and our crowd managers will guide family groups to four different, spaced tables to drop your offering in a basket.
Miscellaneous Items
Children will need to be under high supervision by their parents or guardians. Your children need to be with you at all times. If they need to use the restroom, please escort them. All classrooms, offices, nursery, Wee Worship, kitchen, children’s hallway, and upstairs will be closed or locked. Please communicate with your children beforehand of these closures. If your child needs something to do during worship, please bring your own drawing paper and supplies for them. Nothing will be available at church.
Church members should not congregate before or after services at the doors, in the fellowship area, or the foyer. Please proceed to the parking lot as soon as church ends to visit and continue to practice social distancing. Crowd managers will assist in an orderly exiting by family groups to comply with guidelines.
Please do not enter the partitions in the fellowship area. This is designated as a “clean” space for our Hispanic congregation.
The bathrooms will be available for use and will be cleaned before and after service. Soap and hand sanitizer will be available for use. Please be cautious and limit use of the facilities as much as possible. A changing table for babies will be placed in the hallway next to the nursery. Please use provided wipes to sanitize the changing table after use.
The water fountain will be closed.
Coffee and donuts or refreshments of any sort will not be provided.
The church will have a professional crew cleaning weekly after our Sunday service. They will be using bleach- based cleaners on floors and bathrooms. Handles, light switches and surfaces will be wiped down. We will also be using a disinfecting and sanitizing mist to fog the air and clean our chairs.
Please practice social distancing when visiting with others. We know that we’ve missed one another and want nothing more than a hug or handshake, but we have to adhere to these guidelines for the time being. Please be considerate of that.
Again, at the present Phase 1, we will not have Sunday morning bible classes, small groups, or any Wednesday night services. It is not possible to practice social distancing in those settings. We will reevaluate these guidelines as we move into other phases and work through our first few Sundays together. We appreciate you and your willingness to keep our church family safe and comply with our government.
If you have any needs or concerns pertaining to these guidelines, please communicate those concerns to our leadership.
Remember, our inconvenience is nothing compared to the sacrifice our Lord has given free to us.
In Him,
Ambrose Ramsey, Matthew Vail, Paul Matherne, Mark Bundy, and Bethany Lerille
Regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Your health, safety and well being are the highest priority at this time. We are closely monitoring the situation locally and nationally to make the most informed decisions. You will be notified if any changes are made regarding worship.
STAY CONNECTED
Our worship service is streaming live on Sunday’s at 10:30am on Facebook Live! Join us online for the Live “watch party” to enjoy singing His praises and even chat with everyone while viewing! You can also visit youtube.com or return here at tammanyoaks.org to watch recorded versions later if you miss the Live broadcast. If for any reason you need technical assistance at all, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions and we will get you your answers.
As of MARCH 19, 2020
We will have individual pre-packaged communion available for pickup outside the front door of the church beginning Friday from 12pm-8pm and again Saturday from 10am-8pm. The communion has been protectively prepped and packaged. Please only take what you need for your family. If you cannot pickup, please let Bethany know and she will deliver to your doorstep.
We also have a bin full of notecards for many different occasions. They are free to take and write cards to members and those needing encouragement. Encourage your little ones to draw picture and write cards to our members. A little drawing can brighten a day!
A directory of addresses was sent to all members email.
UPDATE MARCH 17, 2020
To The Family of God at Tammany Oaks,
Based on the orders and guidelines of our State and Federal Governments, please be advised that all Bible Classes and public worship services at The Tammany Oaks Church of Christ have been cancelled for now. At this time, we cannot say when we will be able to assemble again as a Body. We hope to be able to “live stream” a worship service from our building each Sunday as we did this past Sunday, and we will send out information regarding this soon.
This is a sad day. But, there are some things we need to bear in mind. The fact that our public assemblies have been temporarily canceled DOES NOT MEAN that “church” has been canceled. The true “church of Christ” lives inside of each of us. Perhaps now more than ever, it will be important for each of us to be the “church” in every place we find ourselves.
In the spirit of the early church, let us “devote ourselves to prayer” – Acts 2:42. Our brother Paul has suggested that we set our phones to remind us to pray every hour for the duration of this crisis.
During this time that we are separated physically, please be reminded that the financial responsibilities of our congregation do not end. We still have a mortgage, utilities, salary, and other bills to pay even though we are not able to meet together.
Please use one of the following methods to continue your weekly monetary contributions so we can continue God's work in our community:
Mailing a check to the church office
Donating online through our website (a link to this option is below)
Contacting Bethany by email to set up a one-time ACH debit transaction from your bank account
And, let us also now, more than ever, devote ourselves to one another. We must make sure that each precious member of our faith family is safe and has what is needed during this time.
May The Lord bless you and keep you,
The shepherds of The Tammany Oaks Church of Christ
- Mark Bundy, Paul Matherne, Ambrose Ramsey, Matthew Vail
UPDATE MARCH 14, 2020
We will be suspending breakfast at church for the time being. We will still provide coffee. Communion will be modified in a way to limit exposure: We have individual communion wafer and juice sets at each chair in the auditorium for you to use during communion. Please limit one per person.
We will still have Nursery and Wee Worship. Communion will not be served in Wee Worship. You may still send your children at your own discretion.
Also, in response to the ever changing fluidity of the situation at hand, we have a few new measures we will be enacting beginning tomorrow: Our adult bible class and worship service will be streamed live on Facebook. Please “like” the Tammany Oaks Church of Christ Facebook page in order to view the service. If you are not feeling well or are concerned about your exposure to the virus, please use this as a way to still gather with us virtually.
You can also contribute any offerings during our virtual service by going to www.tammanyoaks.org and clicking donate.
CAUTIONARY MEASURES WE ARE TAKING:
Keeping you up to date of any important church information via Facebook, Email, and Tammanyoaks.org
Thoroughly disinfecting surface areas, door handles, and light switches after each gathering.
Blankets are being washed after use.
The facilities and kitchen are being bleached and sanitized regularly.
Hand Soap is readily available and there is hand sanitizer at the front entrance and near the coffee area.
Toys in the nursery are always cleaned with Lysol wipes after each service.
We are adding small individual communion wafers to the communion trays if you would prefer to use those instead.
DISCRETIONARY MEASURES WE ARE ASKING:
Please try to educate yourself about COVID-19 as best as you can using vetted reliable sources.
We encourage our members to be diligent in the way we greet one another. We know that we are a church built on love and with that comes hugs and handshakes…
For the time being, we advise avoiding physical contact as we greet one another.
In a strong effort to minimize spreading germs, please wash & sanitize your hands thoroughly and often as possible.
Please be mindful that even the slightest, early common-cold symptoms could be concerning to others. If you, or your family are experiencing flu-type symptoms please do not visit the church, and do not hesitate reaching out to your doctor for an official diagnosis.
If you know someone who may not be attending due to this situation, please encourage them with notes and phone calls.
BE PREPARED:
In South Louisiana we are used to preparing for hurricane disasters, and somewhat similarly, in case of a possible quarantine, here are some tips as recommended by CDC and other sources:
Food: Fresh fruits and vegetables will likely spoil over 14 days, so canned foods that have a long storage life and need little or no cooking are recommended. Meat products, fish or beans, soups, broths and stews, fruits and fruit juices, vegetables, canned (or powdered) milk, are among good supply choices recommended by the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Disaster Education Network.
Frozen foods are an option, too. Other recommended foods are peanut butter, jelly, crackers, nuts, trail mix, dried fruits, granola bars, bouillon cubes, and staples like sugar, salt, pepper. (Keep in mind you may need to include some special foods for babies and family members on special diets, as well as pet foods.)
Water and liquids: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests you store plenty of fluids on hand, such as bottled water and supply of fluids with electrolytes, such as Pedialyte or Gatorade.
Medicine: You will want to have a 14-day supply of any prescription medications for those in your home. You may also want over-the-counter pain relievers, antacids, cough and cold medicines, and vitamins.
Supplies: Many homes already have a 14-day supply of most daily items on hand. But make sure you have toothpaste, toilet paper, feminine supplies, diapers, laundry detergent and disinfectant.
* Information can be found on USA Today
And lastly, our God is a good and loving God who protects and loves us. Please lift up prayers to Him for His continued protection, and for a rapid end to this situation.
Psalm 5:11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
