UPDATED GUIDELINES BY ST. JOHN’S COVID-19 TASK FORCE AS OF MARCH 7, 2022

FACE COVERINGS ARE OPTIONAL EXCEPT….

Our COVID-19 Task Force has decided we can move to a ‘Face Coverings Are Optional’ practice inside the facilities of St. John’s EXCEPT IN OUR PRESCHOOL AND NURSERY AREAS. This new procedure goes into effect as of Monday, March 7, 2022.

  • On Sundays, our volunteers in the nursery and preschool rooms will continue to wear face coverings. Each of these volunteers is also required to be fully vaccinated including all up-to-date boosters.
  • On weekdays, anyone in our nursery and preschool areas will need to wear face-coverings.
  • We will continue to be sensitive to persons who are living in ‘at risk’ situations. As an intergenerational congregation, we will always be protective of our preschoolers and those who are susceptible to infections.

Thank you for your continual kindness to one another.

UPDATED GUIDELINES BY ST. JOHN’S COVID-19 TASK FORCE: January 19, 2022

The rise in the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has caused CDC and other agencies to update guidelines. Because several households in the life of St. John’s have been diagnosed with COVID in January and because we always want to err on the side of caution on behalf of our preschoolers and persons at risk, our COVID-19 Task Force has updated our congregational guidelines as follows:

  • If you test positive for COVID-19, we are requesting the following protocol regardless of vaccination status. 
  • Please refrain from returning to church services for 10 days. 
  • To calculate this, Day 0 is the first day of symptoms, and Day 1 is the first full day after symptoms develop or your test specimen was collected. If symptomatic, you must also have symptoms improving and be fever-free for 24 hours. 
  • We encourage you to be asymptomatic with a negative home test prior to returning to services to protect those who are most at risk among the congregation.
  • Always wear a well-fitting face-covering (KN95, N95, or surgical masks are preferred) and continue to practice social distancing.
  • Masks are still REQUIRED on campus at St. John’s Baptist Church at all times for ages 3 and up.


We appreciate your compassionate care for others. This attentiveness is one of the ways we follow Jesus’ teachings to love one another.

COVID-19 Task Force Updates: August 17, 2021


Although cases are rising, we plan to continue gathering and welcoming groups back into our
facilities after Labor Day. Therefore, it seems apropos to inform you how we plan to operate in
case you are diagnosed with COVID-19 after having gathered with others in our facilities.
First, the good news is that if you are vaccinated, your symptoms will be milder, and the
chances of you being hospitalized or in a critical care situation are minimized. Therefore, we
strongly encourage everyone to be vaccinated. Your entire church staff has been vaccinated for
several months and is looking forward to the upcoming boosters when they are made available.
This is one more way in which we can love one another and love our neighbors.


Face coverings are REQUIRED on campus at all times!


On August 16, 2021, the COVID-19 Task Force met to discuss the rise in cases due to the Delta
variant and how we should actively respond as a congregation.


At the meeting, members of the team agreed to make face coverings REQUIRED in all areas of
the building and in all meetings and gatherings in the Sanctuary, regardless of vaccination
status. For all meetings and services, social distancing is encouraged.


Also, it is VERY important that all persons check-in to register their attendance when arriving on
campus for worship and all meetings. This tool will help us greatly in the task of notifying others
of possible exposure to COVID-19 occurs at St. John’s.


You may check-in before or after worship and classes on Sundays. Check-in for the Sunday
school hour will be available for all groups this Sunday at the Main Entrance lobby for classes
meeting on the lower level and on the upper level outside the elevator. Families with nursery
and preschool-age children will need to check-in their children outside the nursery on the main
level to receive a name badge.


What to do if you test positive for COVID-19:

  • If you test positive for COVID-19 and have attended a meeting, class, or worship at St. John’s in person, please contact Jacquelyn McAbee at 434-579-1177.
  • All information will be kept private and only disclosed to Jacquelyn and relevant ministry staff.

We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we show love and care for one another, especially our children and immunocompromised, by wearing our face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.