Dear TCO Family,

First and foremost, your Elders want to say “thank you” for your flexibility and patience during these trying and ever-changing times. All of us are forced to make decisions based upon the information we have at the time, knowing that it is quickly changing, and we are forced to trust the information we have to be true. There is no blueprint to this and every organization is doing the best they can to safely and lovingly guide their members thru this. TCO is no different.

In our desire to best love and accommodate the most people on campus at one time given all the variables involved, we feel that we have unintentionally divided the TCO body even while gathering here on campus by making masks optional in certain rooms and mandatory in others, resulting in small groups being isolated from everyone else, and we want to try our best to correct this. So, in our continual effort to listen to you as the body, to serve you in the greatest capacity, to best maximize the space we have at TCO, and to allow for the largest representation of our body to worship together in one room, BEGINNING SUNDAY, AUGUST 2 MASKS WILL BE MANDATORY IN ALL OF OUR BUILDINGS FOR WORSHIP SERVICES AND LARGE GROUP GATHERINGS until further notice. This will apply to everyone over the age of 4 years old. Exceptions, per CDC guidelines, will be made for people with “breathing issues that could be exacerbated by wearing a face covering.”

The natural question is, “Why the change?” Several factors go into our decisions regarding these issues such as the condition of our counties as people come from various counties, the inherent risk of large gatherings, the safety of our staff, volunteers and attendees, the unity of the body of Christ, the nature of our particular gatherings which includes singing and interaction, the credibility of our witness, and observation of how our decisions do or do not work and that of other organizations like ourselves. 

While there is much to each of these factors that we could elaborate on, let us summarize our position and reason for the change in one word: LOVE. We believe based upon Scripture that love is to underscore everything we do as believers. Let me encourage you with Scriptural basis for this to prayerfully consider and better understand our position:

John 13:34-35 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” What this teaches us is that the defining characteristic of believers is to be love. We are to be known by our sacrificial love for one another and to the glory of the Lord.

Within our lives as believers we enjoy much liberty. And love must govern these liberties, both love of God and others, rather than self. Please consider the following passages as examples: 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 8:13; 9:19-27; Romans 14.

We believe that the application of this today for us as a body is to lay down that which divides or causes division, in our case masks, and ask that everyone in love for one another wear a mask while on campus for large group gatherings. It does less harm for someone to put on a mask who might not think they need one than for someone to take off a mask that may be vital or at the very least is felt to be vital.

Please understand that the main purpose of this change is so that everyone who attends our worship gathering can worship together in the same room and the largest representation of our body can be made to feel comfortable and welcomed at one time in one place. We feel that all of us wearing masks allows us to better accomplish the very purpose and nature of our gathering together, as outlined in Hebrews 10:24-25 which states, “And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” We cannot do this well when we are in different rooms.

In addition, we have re-arranged the sanctuary so there is more space between the rows to allow for additional distancing even with masks being worn. With the mandate of masks and additional spacing of rows, you will be free to sit however and wherever you feel comfortable in every row, allowing a seat or two in between families if necessary. If you prefer to have extra space between yourself and others, please let an usher know and we will gladly accommodate this request.

We acknowledge there are no guarantees that this will help to free more people up to come and worship in person as opinions and convictions vary. But this cannot keep us from lovingly doing everything we can to reach the most people. We want to be known for doing everything we can to make our worship services available to everyone as safely as reasonably possible. As always we will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of this and make any necessary or needed changes.

Thank you again for your flexibility and patience in all of this, and we pray you will continue to do so. Know that we love you and are seeking to serve you in the best ways possible. If you have any questions, please email the elders at elders@churchatodessa.org.

Sincerely,

TCO Elders

BEGINNING SUNDAY, AUGUST 2 MASKS WILL BE MANADATORY IN ALL OF OUR BUILDINGS FOR WORSHIP SERVICES AND LARGE GROUP GATHERINGS