Phase 5: Illinois Restored

General Guidance from Restore Illinois Plan:

• Either a vaccine is developed to prevent additional spread of COVID-19, a treatment option is readily available that ensures health care capacity is no longer a concern, or there are no new cases over a sustained period.
• All sectors of the economy reopen with businesses, schools, and recreation resuming normal operations with new safety guidance and procedures.
• Large gatherings of all sizes can resume.
• Conventions, festivals, and large events can take place.

Illinois Great Rivers Conference Guidance:

1. Churches may gather in unlimited sizes for worship, leadership meetings, discipleship formation, and missional service. We recommend a really big party. With music. And really loud singing. And cake. And casseroles.
2. Special health safety guidelines are lifted, and churches may resume normal operations in accordance with any new community health safety guidelines and procedures adopted by public health officials their area.
3. People over 65 years old, those with compromised immunity, and those with respiratory illness or injury are encouraged into full in person participation in church activities, as they feel safe and able to do so.
4. Some churches may determine that they will continue to meet for public worship online in order to avoid excluding congregants who may not yet feel safe attending in person gatherings. Most churches will want to continue to offer their online or broadcast worship experience as a way to continue to serve and encourage the new people who have joined their congregation through online or broadcast worship services.