Prayer Guidelines for In-Person Services During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Currently, all Shabbat and weekday services are held in person in our temporary home at the Hebrew Tabernacle.

We are guided by two core values:

First, our doors are fully open and all of us belong here. There is no more pre-registration or capacity limit for any FTJC services. Whenever you arrive—on time or not—we look forward to being together again under one roof!

Second, we care about each other and keep each other safe. Our community has important guidelines in place to maximize everyone’s safety and comfort at indoor services during the next phase of this pandemic. 

This FTJC community covenant outlines our shared expectations for each other. Please read this before coming to services:

By attending, we affirm:

We are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, if eligible, including boosters.

We wear masks properly:

• Adults: N95/KN95/KF94 masks (verified, well fitting, in good condition)
• Children 2 and up: Any well-fitted mask

We have no symptoms of Covid-19.

We respect each other’s different risk levels and needs for distance.

We use the bathrooms one person or household at a time.

We help children follow these safe behaviors.

We ensure that our guests affirm this covenant.

If we have confirmed exposure as a close contact, or test positive for Covid-19, we follow CDC guidelines for being around high-risk people before returning to FTJC (10 days).

For more info or guidance, please email gathering@ftjc.org.

As a religious community, we rely on one another to create and share a welcoming space, to fill our spiritual wells through prayer and song, and to protect one another’s health. This covenant is an expression of these values. As a reminder, everyone who is eligible is required to be fully vaccinated, including visitors and guests. (As part of this policy, there will be a 6-week grace period from the time that an individual becomes eligible. Anyone ineligible or unable to be vaccinated is still welcome at FTJC gatherings.)

Masks, along with vaccinations, remain one of the most important mitigation strategies at our disposal. Maximizing the quality and filtration of masks is especially important for many in our community who are at a higher risk of developing a Covid-19 infection, including older adults, those who are immunocompromised, those with disabilities, and children too young to be vaccinated or wear a mask. In order to keep our space as safe as possible for as many of our members as possible, we require all adults to wear a high grade mask (N95/KN95/KF94). We have a supply available to everyone upon entering our space, but anyone preferring to bring their own may do so, as long as it is verified, well fitting, and in good condition. if any person would prefer to bring their own mask we are happy to have them do so. Kids aged 2+ are expected to wear a well-fitting mask from home. Families will determine what type of masks their children should wear.

At our outdoor events, masks are now optional, but should always be brought along. Please take care to respect each other’s different risk levels and needs for distance. If you are unsure, please ask and communicate freely! If food is being served, please keep your mask on when taking food and take care not to crowd around the table. We hope that everyone, regardless of their risk tolerance, will be able to move around and spread out comfortably when we gather together outside.

Seating in the social hall will be split into two sections: In the front half, pairs of chairs will be arranged 6 feet apart. In the back half, chairs will be arranged in rows, as they were before the pandemic. This setup is intended to allow community members with different needs and levels of risk tolerance to make their own decisions about how to move through the space. Whether you prefer to maintain social distancing or sit next to others by mutual consent, we trust that everyone will respect each other’s choices, including while schmoozing after services. NOTE: due to the hum of the air scrubber machines, several chairs near the leader will be marked as “reserved for those in need of hearing assistance.”

Ventilation measures include: windows as open as possible; the building’s exhaust fan; and three commercial-grade HEPA air scrubbers.

Rimonim youth & family programming will take place 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. as follows:

• Zera’im (newborns to 3): Outdoors in Bennett Park, SE corner. Services will be moved indoors to Hebrew Tabernacle's Penthouse when the forecast is for temperature below 40 degrees F, or rain or snow. 
• Nitzanim (pre-K to 2nd Grade): Indoors in classroom 2, with distancing
• Shorashim (3rd to 5th Grade): Indoors in classroom 1, with distancing

Smaller services: Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat minchah/ma’ariv, and our daily minyanim (Sunday at 8 a.m,, Monday at 7 a.m., and Thursday at 7 a.m.) will also take place in the social hall. When the social hall is unavailable, we will use the upstairs sanctuary.

We know that our community is home to members with diverse needs and practices around the pandemic. These guidelines strive to uphold our values as a warm, welcoming community that is committed to disability justice and affirms that everyone is created in Hashem’s image. Thank you for your cooperation with our greeters, gabbais, and each other as we continue to adapt. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions, feel free to get in touch with us at gathering@ftjc.org. 

We thank the Board of Trustees for its thoughtful and diligent work to develop these guidelines, with much input from our in-person-planning committee and our health advisory group.

We are looking forward to being together in the months ahead