Our Response to COVID-19

I’m sure most of you are wondering what Gov. Kemp’s address yesterday means for us at BFUMC. In his statement, Gov. Kemp announced that certain businesses and places of worship were allowed to reopen following strict guidelines and practices of social distancing. As a result of this announcement, and in following the guidelines of Bishop Sue Hauper-Johnson, our District Superintendent Dr. Brian Clark, the CDC, and Governor Kemp’s recommendations that all vulnerable individuals continue to shelter in place through May 13, we will not be gathering in person for worship or other church programs until sometime after May 13th. Given the size of our church and the number of vulnerable individuals in our congregation, we feel this is the wisest and most loving course we can take to protect each of you.

The Cabinet of the North Georgia Conference will revisit the situation on Monday, April 27 and let churches know what we need to think about before reopening and provide us with guidelines on how to do this safely. As much as we long to be together again, we need to be smart about how we move forward. As your pastor, my ultimate priority is to ensure the safety of all of those who worship with us; therefore I will be working with our staff and church leadership on a responsible and comprehensive plan to reopen our church at an appropriate and safe time. In the meantime, we will continue worshiping, meeting, and studying God’s Word virtually until our church family can reunite safely in the same space. Until then, please practice safe social distancing and continue to pray for our church, community, and leaders. For our most vulnerable members, please continue to remain in place and take all the necessary precautions to protect yourselves. Our primary concern should be to continue to “do no harm,” and seek to protect ourselves and those we love.

The church staff will continue to work from home until further notice. All staff members are available through emails, phone calls, text messages, or social media. If you have any issues, pastoral needs, or just need someone to talk with please feel free to contact any of us; we are here for you! All of our cell phones and email addresses are listed in the weekly emails. All staff members are checking their cell phones regularly. However, because we are not in the office on a daily basis, please know we will not be checking our office numbers on a regular basis. 

Thank you for your continued prayers, support, encouragement and generosity during this pandemic. We are the church, united by the Holy Spirit regardless of where we are! Thank you for continuing to share the light and love of Christ with our community and those in need.

We will keep you updated as we continue to move forward.

Focused on Christ and praying for all of you,

Pastor Frank