COVID-19 Statement

UPDATE: Monday, November 30, 2020: 

In our continuing effort to ensure the health and safety of our staff and church community, the following is an update to our reopening plan for public events at MCC:

• There will be NO Wednesday Family Night this coming Wednesday, December 2nd. Life Groups and Awana will return on Wednesday, December 9th for the final Family Night of the year.
• In-person Sunday services will resume on Sunday, December 6th, at 9:00am and 11:00am at the Elverson Campus, and 6:30pm at the Birdsboro Campus.
• The “All Masks” service at 10:00am scheduled for this Sunday has been postponed until Sunday, December 13, at 10:00am.
• The Grow Team Banquet has been postponed and will be rescheduled for January, 2021 – details to be communicated as soon as possible.

These decisions were made out of an abundance of caution and for the peace of mind of our church community. All staff members who were potentially exposed will remain in quarantine for the full 14 days. Our buildings have undergone cleaning and disinfecting, and we look forward to safely welcoming everyone back beginning Sunday, December 6th.  Masks are strongly encouraged once we reopen; in an effort to minimize the risk of any new exposures as winter approaches — and hopefully keep MCC’s doors open through the upcoming season.

We appreciate everyone’s cooperation and understanding through these weeks, and our prayer is that everyone remains healthy and safe through the holiday and beyond!

Original message: Tuesday, November 24, 2020: 

MCC is committed to protecting the health and safety of our community, while safely allowing our church and outreach programs to operate during these challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday evening, November 23, we were made aware of a potential COVID-19 exposure to some of our staff members may have occurred. The exposure was from a non-staff visitor to MCC, and occurred prior to our Movie Night event that took place on Saturday, November 21 at our Elverson campus. There was no direct exposure of the individual suspected to have COVID-19 to the attendees of our Movie Night event, as the individual did not attend that event. The individual has been tested, and is awaiting results. We are in contact with, and are praying for, the individual through this time. While confirmation of positive COVID-19 infection has not yet been determined, the individual does have mild symptoms that could indicate COVID-19 infection. Out of an abundance of caution, we are treating this situation as an exposure until and unless we learn that the test is negative.

Because some MCC staff members were in close contact with the suspected case, we are immediately making the following changes to our upcoming services and events:

• Our Elverson and Birdsboro campuses will be closed to all in-person activities and events at least through Sunday, November 29. Both locations will undergo deep cleaning and disinfecting.
• Regretfully, our Wednesday Thanksgiving Eve service has been canceled.
• There will be no in-person services on Sunday, November 29 at either campus. We will be live-streaming our services at 9:00am and 11:00am.
• Celebrate Recovery meeting scheduled for Tuesday, November 24 will be held off-site; contact your Celebrate Recovery leader for more information.
• GriefShare meeting scheduled for Tuesday, November 24 has been canceled.

All potentially exposed staff are under quarantine until test results are confirmed. We will continue to update this page as more information is received – please check back. In the meantime, if you have questions, we invite you to review the following FAQ, or use the contact form at the bottom of this page to contact us regarding this issue.

COVID-19 Potential Exposure FAQ:

I attended Movie Night at MCC on Saturday, November 21st. Was I potentially exposed? Should I be tested?

The individual who is suspected, but not confirmed, to have COVID-19 was not in attendance at Movie Night, but did have close contact with several staff members in the afternoon prior to Movie Night. As such, per CDC guidance about exposure, attendees of Movie Night are not considered to have been exposed. With that said, anyone who is experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should speak with their medical professional for guidance.

I attended MCC on Sunday for service. Was I potentially exposed? Should I be tested?

Per CDC guidelines, an individual is considered exposed after direct contact with an infected person. The person who is suspected of being positive for COVID-19 was not on MCC premises on Sunday and had no direct contact with anyone other than MCC staff. No MCC staff are exhibiting symptoms. As such, we do not believe that any attendees of our Sunday services are at risk from this potential exposure. With that said, any person who experiences symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should speak with their medical professional for guidance.

What about the Birdsboro Campus? Is that location also affected? 

Both the Elverson Campus and Birdsboro Campus will be closed at least through Sunday, November 29th. While the exposure occurred at the Elverson Campus, our staff works at both locations. Out of an abundance of caution, we are closing both locations, will be doing a deep clean and disinfection of both buildings, and any staff member who may have been exposed is quarantining.

What is being canceled? 

All building use is canceled at both Elverson campus and Birdsboro campus while we do a deep clean and disinfection and allow affected staff to quarantine.

Will services and events resume after November 29th?

We will evaluate all future services and campus events after the pending test results are received and quarantined staff are symptom-free.

How will you communicate updates? 

This page will be updated as new information is available to communicate.

Questions?

If you have any questions that were not answered here, please feel free to use the following form to submit your questions. We will respond as quickly as possible.