august 9th update


Hello Rock Family & Friends,


We are glad to announce that we have started meeting at the theaters again for Sunday worship services.

We are meeting at our regular scheduled times of 8:30 & 10:00am. We are complying with the state’s requirement

to allow only a 33% capacity for seating, but we have offset that by using both theaters 1 & 2 for our worship services. 


Even at the current 33% seating capacity allowed, with people spaced apart and seated in every other row, we can still welcome 150 people per service. So, don’t feel like there won’t be room for you if you come. We do have more and more people starting to come so we always encourage you to arrive early or on-time for the services.


We have partially re-started our Rock Kids programming for children in grades 1-5 at the 10:00am service. Our staff and volunteers are prepared to teach this age group and do so with a confidence that they can keep kids safely distanced. If you opt to have your kids sit with you in the main service on Sunday, be sure they take a clip board as the enter the theater that has age-appropriate activities for them to do.  


We also will restart our 10:00am Middle School class for youth in grades 6-8 on Sunday, August 30. As before, this class will start after the singing portion of the service has completed. We have two men who have experience with youth who are eager to invest in their lives and develop the faith of your middle school youth. Dustin Truver has been volunteering in our youth ministry, and Chad Heim is a former youth pastor.  


To ensure that everyone who comes on Sunday can enjoy a worry-free worship experience, our staff has gone to great lengths to prepare the movie theaters for your return. Dipson Theaters has sprayed every theater with a powerful disinfectant that will keep the seats germ-free for up to 90 days and they will reapply the disinfectant every 60 days.   


If you would like to come on Sunday, please be aware that we are requiring everyone to wear a mask to enter the building. 

We have masks available for you to keep, should you forget yours. You won’t have to touch a door to enter as they will be opened for you.  Upon entering the theaters, we have everyone stop at the touchless sanitizer dispenser in the concession area. Other touchless sanitizer dispensers are positioned around the building and inside the theaters. 


We encourage people to social distance as they hang out and talk, and when entering theaters 1 and 2 for the service. Once inside those theaters we will have ushers who will direct you to a seat based on the size of the group you come with. We are trying to avoid any crossing over of people already seated to prevent contact with people not in your party. Parties are required to maintain a 3-seat space between them and the next person or group.


We have people sit in every other row during both services, and we move the “Do not sit in this row” sign after the first service and place them on the rows where the people sat during the first service. This, along with the disinfectant that has been already applied, further prevents any possibility of cross-contamination.  


Once you are seated, you can remove your mask. If you prefer to sing aloud during the singing portion of the service, then we must ask you to continue to wear your mask. The likelihood of ’spray’ is much greater when we sing aloud without a mask. With so few people going into theater 2 at this point, it may be a better seating option for those who enjoy singing praise to God loud and proud.


To minimize any possibility of contact and contamination, we will not be handing out paper bulletins, and we not pass the bucket for the offering. Attendees can place their tithes and offerings in the buckets provided as they leave the theaters after the service concludes. 


Once the service is over, we will direct attendees in both theaters out different exit doors and have them social distance so as to avoid creating a crowd of people in any place.


We know some of you are immune-compromised and do not feel comfortable coming to an in-person worship experience yet. We understand, and that is why we are glad that we can still provide you with a high quality online worship experience that makes you feel like "you are there.”


If you want to invite a friend or family member to the theaters on Sunday, you can do with confidence that they are coming to safe worship service. If you prefer to watch online, you can still invite your friends by sharing our livestream on Facebook, holding a 'watch party,’ or invite them to watch the service on the ‘Media’ page on our website.


We look forward to seeing you at church or online.  Let’s keep the momentum going! 


CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

March 12, 2020


Dear The Rock community,


By now you’re hearing from businesses, schools, and, of course, the 24-hour news cycle about quarantines, cancellations, and precautions in our area.

It can be pretty unnerving. We start asking questions like, ‘Do I have an underlying condition that makes me vulnerable?’ ‘Will my age effect my immune system response?’ ‘Is it safe to go out of my house?’

It’s hard sometimes to separate the truth from the hysteria (after all, news media outlets are competing with each other for your viewing time). But, we do agree that it’s a time to be cautious, particularly for the sake of our most vulnerable worshipers. In that effort, we want to inform you of the steps The Rock is taking in order to protect our church community as best we can.


With all this being said, please know we definitely feel we need to remember Jesus’ words: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27).


So, armed with our faith, we have put the following sensible protocols in place:

  1. We have implemented a management plan to take precautions and plan for contingencies as the coronavirus situation evolves. Our number 1 goal is the safety and well-being of our church community.
  2. We are actively monitoring notices from the CDC, the New York State Department of Health, and the Chautauqua County Health Department.
  3. We are following best cleaning practices. All hard surfaces (e.g. counters, doorknobs, railings, gates, nursery chairs, tables and toys) in common areas and party rooms are cleaned each Sunday morning before the general public arrives.  All seats have been disinfected in theaters as well. 
  4. We have placed hand sanitizer in all group spaces.
  5. We will continue to have Communion, using pre-packaged Communion kits to ensure maximum safety.  


Should there be any cancellations, it is important that you do the following to make sure you receive the most up-to-date info from The Rock:

  1. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@therockcc.church)
  2. Download our new app which is available at the bottom of this page, making sure you allow for push notifications.
  3. Sign up for our Weekly Update by sending an email to info@therockcc.church, informing us that you would like to receive it.
  4. Visit this website.

While we have no current plans to close our Sunday morning gatherings to the public, in the event that it is mandated or we feel it is in the best interest of the community to do so, we plan to broadcast a 10am service online!  You can join us live either on Facebook Live or by clicking HERE Sundays at 10AM.


Basically, we ask our Rock community to use personal hygiene guidelines provided by the CDC:

Frequent hand-washing with soap for 20 seconds, using sanitizer when possible, and covering your mouth/nose when sneezing or coughing – then throwing the tissue in the trash. Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.


Bottom line: If you are sick, have flu-like symptoms, or have been exposed to a person who has tested positive for the coronavirus, or if you’ve traveled to a high-risk area (or have been exposed to someone who has), please stay home.


Remember, you can view our services in their entirety online here:

Also, you can still give and contribute to the ministry of The Rock here: https://www.kindridgiving.com/app/giving/therockchurchjamestown

We want you to know that, to date, we have not received any communication from the Department of Health that Chautauqua County is directly affected in any way. All scheduled activities and services are still continuing as usual.


We will continue to monitor our protocols in connection with recommendations from the CDC, state and local health authorities, and will update our response as needed.


Let’s keep living our lives! (And maybe take a break from the news cycle for a few minutes.)


May God Bless you and your family,


Doug Kibbe

Lead Pastor @ The Rock