Author: tykenworthy

Sisters and Brothers,

Beginning Sunday, October 11th, the Geneva Heights 12th ward will invite all members to attend Sacrament Meeting in person each week. For those unable or unadvised to attend, Sacrament Meeting will be broadcast using YouTube LIVE. Sacrament Meeting will start at 1pm and will last for 55 minutes—only 30 minutes of which will be broadcast. Additionally, Priesthood Quorums, Relief Society and Young Women’s classes, and Sunday School will officially resume meetings, but will be held entirely online. Finally, Children & Youth gatherings for activities will continue as currently planned. Please continue reading for more details.

Please note that these plans have been reviewed and approved by our Stake and Area Authorities, and were considered in light of the recent status change in Utah County. Our plans conform to county and state guidance and regulations. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact Bishop Kenworthy.

Sacrament Meeting

We have been authorized to enable 150 members to meet together for Sacrament Meeting services. If more than 150 members attend, we will overflow into other rooms in the building to continue to ensure social distancing between family groups. As mentioned before, Sacrament Meeting will begin at 1pm and will last for 55 minutes. The schedule will be as follows:

Part 1: Sacrament Meeting Program (1:00 – 1:30pm)

• Welcome by member of the Bishopric
• Opening Hymn
• Ward/Stake Business
• Talks or Testimonies
• Closing Prayer

Part 2: Administration of the Sacrament (1:32 – 1:55pm)

• Sacrament Hymn
• Administration of the Sacrament
• Dismiss the congregation

Part 1 will be broadcast using YouTube LIVE. YouTube LIVE information will be shared through our ward website (gh12th.com). More details on this will be forthcoming. At the conclusion of Part 1, the broadcast will be terminated, and we will transition reverently to Part 2. No part of the Sacrament Meeting services will be recorded for later viewing.

We will sing 1 or 2 verses of the hymns indicated in the program. Members are advised not to remove their masks or face coverings when singing the hymns.

The program and links to hymns will be posted to the website used by our ward to communicate programs and announcements to its members (gh12th.com). QR codes that link to our mobile-friendly ward website will be posted prominently by the entrance to the chapel to give members a reminder of and quick access to the weekly program. Per the current guidelines, no printed programs or hymnbooks will be available during our meetings.

The emblems of the sacrament will continue to be prepared and administered according to the safe and sanitary methods used since resuming our limited Sacrament Meeting services earlier this summer. We are committed to providing both a sacred and spiritually-enriching ordinance in a safe and healthy manner.

Administration of the Sacrament in Homes

Now that we will all be meeting every week, administration of the sacrament in homes is no longer generally authorized, but only upon case-by-case approval of the bishop. Though the bishop will be reasonable in his approval of exceptions, please consider that the intent of resuming meetings in this manner is to “meet together oft to partake of bread and [water], in remembrance of the Lord Jesus” (Moroni 6:6). Please consider this when determining whether to seek an exception at any time.

Ward Organization Meetings

Quorum and Class meetings will be held online before Sacrament Meeting (at 11am unless directed otherwise by your organization leadership). Please note, these meetings are formal, approved organizational meetings that you would be expected to attend if you were attending church in a pre-COVID world. As you may recall, one of the questions asked when seeking a temple recommend is Do you strive to keep the Sabbath day holy, both at home and at church; attend your meetings, prepare for and worthily partake of the sacrament; and live your life in harmony with the laws of and commandments of the gospel? These ward organization meetings are among the meetings referenced in this question—whether held in person or online.

Look for communication from your organization leadership between now and October 10^th with information about when your meeting will be held and how to connect to it. Please ensure you download any apps or check your access in advance of your first class to verify you will be able to connect. If you have any trouble connecting, contact the organization secretary for assistance.

Primary

Primary will not be held virtually during this next phase of meetings. However, the Primary will continue to provide regular, recorded messages prepared by our wonderful Primary teachers that parents may use to supplement their gospel instruction in the home sometime each week. With our Sunday schedules starting to fill up once again, some parents may elect to hold their at-home Primary on Monday night, or any other time of the week most convenient to this activity.

I look forward to meeting again as an entire ward to worship our Savior, Jesus Christ–the one whom has strengthened us all through these strange and trying times. 

Faithfully yours,

Bishop Ty Kenworthy

Sisters and Brothers,

Here is the upcoming schedule for Sacrament Meetings by last name:

• August 9^th – S and V through Z
• August 16^th – A through G
• August 23^rd – H through O
• August 30^th – P through Z
• September 6^th – A through G
• September 13^th – H through O
• September 20^th – P through Z
• September 27^th – A through G
• October 3^rd & 4^th – General Conference
• October 11^th – H through O
• October 18^th – P through Z

Please note, we have condensed the number of groups from 4 to 3 to give more members more frequent opportunities to attend Sacrament Meeting. Meetings start at 1pm and last for 30 minutes.

I strongly recommend that you take a moment to create reminders or calendar events for the Sundays you are assigned so you are less likely to forget to attend on your week. I look forward to the day when we can just meet all together every week and not worry about schedules like this anymore.

Also, while we hope not to make any changes to the schedule, if during this period of time the Church authorizes us to move to a phase II schedule (or better), we may update the schedule accordingly and will communicate those changes to you several weeks in advance.

Finally, as before, on the weeks you are not scheduled to attend Sacrament Meeting, you may hold home worship services that include the administration of the sacrament by a worthy Priest or Melchizedek Priesthood holder. On weeks you are scheduled to attend Sacrament Meeting, you may not administer the sacrament as part of your home worship activities unless you have my express permission. Unless I tell you otherwise, permission needs to be obtained for each week you would request such an exception.

Other Announcements

Ward Activity: Drive-In Movie

The ward will be holding a drive-in movie activity in the meetinghouse parking lot on Saturday, August 15^th. The gates will open at 8:00pm and the movie will start at 8:20pm. We will have popcorn, drinks, and snacks, so tell your neighbors and ministering families and come join us for some fun. The movie we will watch is still being finalized, but it will be appropriate for all audiences. Please note: you will need an FM radio in your car to hear the movie audio.

Marriage and Family Relations Class

The Sunday School will start holding weekly Marriage and Family Relations classes via web conference. Each course section will be conducted separately by our amazing Gospel Doctrine teachers and runs for eight weeks. After completing one eight-week section, you will be able to jump immediately to the next section. Our first scheduled webinar begins this Sunday, August 9 at 4:00 p.m., will run for approximately an hour and will focus on Parent’s Responsibilities to Strengthen Families.

In order to enable us to stay connected throughout the course, we’ve set up a registration page for anybody that would like to attend. The registration form is simple and will take less than a minute to complete. If you’d like to participate, we’d love to see you in this class! Use the link below to complete your registration:https://www.anymeeting.com/AccountManager/RegEv.aspx?PIID=EF53DF8282493C

Look for additional information coming soon about our Strengthening Marriages course as well!

Temple Recommend Renewals & Family History Work

If you are like me, you’ve developed a new appreciation for temples and a longing to return to them after their long closure during the pandemic. When the temples reopen and ordinances resume, don’t lose time getting back to the temple because you have to get your Temple Recommend renewed. Take care of that now while you have time and opportunity. To schedule time to renew your Temple Recommend, please contact Bro. Ryan Oaks, our Assistant Executive Secretary. His contact information can be found in the Member Tools app.

While you’re waiting for the temples to reopen, consider doing some family history research. Imagine having a stack of family names in hand, ready to go when the temples open for proxy ordinances. Invest in this activity now so you can focus on doing the temple work later!

That’s all for now. I hope you all have a good week and create daily opportunities to feel the Spirit and drink deeply of the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Faithfully yours,

Bishop Ty Kenworthy