Returning to the Hall
After 100 gracious and wonderful Sundays in the vineyard, we will be returning home to the Santa Margarita Community Hall on Sunday, April 24. We’ve been out for 100 Sundays and many of you have never been at the Hall at all. Here is some important and helpful information as we make the transition home.
First of all, the Santa Margarita Community Hall is located at 22501 I Street in Santa Margarita. Santa Margarita Community Church Chapel is right next-door at 22525 I St.
We are grateful for the use of both of these facilities, made possible by the good people who have gone before us. We stand on their shoulders.
Worship services, as adult Sunday school, will be held in the Community Hall. Children’s Sunday School, the cry room and mid-week Bible studies will be held in the Chapel.
Sunday school
Families with children will probably want to park at the Chapel in order to check their children in for Sunday school. Please arrive with enough time so you can follow the check-in procedures and have them ready to begin with Miss Jean or Miss Janine at 9:00 AM. Children will continue their study of the Bible using the curriculum called Generations of Grace which leads our children through the Bible once every three years.
Adult Sunday school, continuing our theological study using the 1689 Confession, will meet in the community hall at 9:00 AM.
We are hoping to have nursery care available during the Sunday School hour.
Worship Service
Worship will begin promptly at 10:00 in the Community Hall – please arrive in enough time to park as you may have to park on the street. There is parking available behind the Chapel, on I St beside the Hall and on Murphy in front of the Hall.
In order to accommodate all of us, we will make our fellowship area on the side of the building between the Hall and the Library. Your coffee and donuts will be waiting for you there as well. Please enter through that side door. If you’ve been worshipping in the Hall with us for 10 years, this will be different for you – please do follow this pattern as it will allow us to accommodate more for worship.
During the service, an unattended cry room will be set up in the Chapel for those moments when you need to take your little one out to settle down. The service will be streamed onto a monitor so that you do not have to miss any part of it while you work on raising up those little worshippers. Remember, the cry room is an aid so that you can return to the service as soon as you and your child are able. Don’t plan to watch the entirety of the service from there.
A few things to remember
Again, parking is difficult and much of it is on the street – please be considerate of our neighbors. They have been wonderful to us over the years.
We will be getting our money’s worth out of the room, so be patient with each other and give thanks to God for giving us each other and so many children!
And…the restrooms in the Community Hall are awkwardly placed. When we are seated for worship, they are unfortunately on the front side of the room. The ladies’ is even worse than the men’s. We are working on additional doors or curtains and are working on the possibility of adding additional temporary (but nice) restrooms at the Chapel. Meanwhile, there is a bathroom at the chapel if you need one during the service.
God has been good to us in these last 100 Sundays. I am eager to see what He has in store as we return home.
