September 10, 2020

Church Family,

On Thursday, September 3rd, The Deacons of Bayshore Baptist Church approved a plan presented by the Advisory Council for returning to in-person worship. While in-person worship will not begin immediately, we now have a process for moving forward, and we praise God for that.

The Diaconate began discussions about returning to in-person worship on June 4th, just before the State of Florida entered phase 2 of reopening.  This made it possible to imagine what worship would be like under the recommendations set forth by the CDC and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.  The Diaconate then appointed our Advisory Council with the task of creating a plan for returning to in-person worship.  This was no simple endeavor.  One of the things that makes Bayshore such a special place is our diversity and commitment to being a “big tent” kind of church.  We are a church of many different theological perspectives and political opinions.  While we believe this makes us stronger as a people, it can also make decision-making and consensus-building a challenge.  As the Advisory Council began their work, our calling was first and foremost to seek the safety of our church family and then to create a plan which provides rational, data-driven justification for returning to in-person worship.  The approved plan is not only focused on creating the safest worship environment we can considering the realities of COVID-19 but is also based on the data for Hillsborough County.  This plan takes into consideration the averages of data over the course of three to five weeks to determine when we can execute the worship plan.  This metric is explained in greater detail in the supporting document.

We will not begin to analyze the data until September 28th as this will allow enough time to see the effects of school reopening and Labor Day while also providing sufficient time to prepare for in-person worship according to the plan. Once the required thresholds are met, the staff, along with the help of the Diaconate and the Advisory Council, will be prepared to resume in-person services as quickly as possible.

As you will see in the supporting documents, the first services back will look quite different than what we are accustomed to experiencing in a Bayshore worship service.  We know this is not ideal, but it will be a start.  It will be worship in community at Bayshore.  As conditions in our area continue to improve, so too will our in-person worship experience.  The quality of our services for those worshipping virtually from home will not change.

We will continue to share additional information as we get closer to returning to in-person worship.  In the meantime, should you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the plan, please do not hesitate to share these with the Advisory Council at admin@bayshorebaptistchurch.com.

As we move forward together, let us be committed to praying for our church, community, and world during these difficult times.  Pray for an end to this pandemic, for wisdom, and for a sense of responsibility among us all towards one another.  We are better together, and we cannot return to being together for worship until we do all we can to mitigate the risks of COVID-19.  Worship is an act of a community of faith, but that community is made up of individuals.  It begins with us.  It begins with you.  May we work together as we continue to pray and hope for the day we are together in-person again.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Alex C. Gallimore, Senior Pastor

Scott McClelland, Deacon and Advisory Chair

Advisory Council

Scott McClelland, Deacon Chair

Sam Ciccarello, President

Ron Rooks, Treasurer

Judy Richman, Clerk

Gloria Scarle, Finance Chair

Bill Oliver, Personnel Chair

Tammy Kennedy, Missions Chair

Karen Rooks, Nominating Chair

Kim Hoffman, at-large

Jeff Lekarczyk, at-large

Steve McNichols, at-large

Click this link to view the complete building reopening plan: BBC Building Reopening Plan

Week of September 21, 2020

Building Reopening

• Please read this note from Pastor Alex and Scott McClelland about a return to in-person worship at Bayshore and our need for volunteers to serve: Bayshore Implementation Request

Worship

• This Sunday, September 27th, Alex will continue his sermon series with the story of Joseph and his brothers. Join us for digital worship at 10:30 a.m. on our website or Facebook!
• You may have noticed that we’ve been having folks from our Bayshore family record greetings for our Sunday digital worship services. If you’d like to contribute one of these videos, click this link to learn more and sign up! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e054ba5ac2ca5f58-greetings
• If you use or want personalized offering envelopes for 2021, please email Deb Alexander at dalexander@bayshorebaptistchurch.com or call her at the church office (813-253-3411) before October 15th. Thank you!

Children

• Sunday morning classes are available via Zoom for both preschool and elementary children. Contact Melisssa at  mscarle@bayshorebaptistchurch.com for access information.
• Zoom Wednesdays “International Escapade” is tomorrow (9/23)!  Preschool is from 6:30-7 p.m. and Elementary/Preteen is from 7-7:30 p.m.

Youth

• The youth continue to connect digitally on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings! Contact Nick at  ndawson@bayshorebaptistchurch.com for access information.
• Save the Date! “LOFT Fall Fest” is coming on the night of Saturday, October 24th in the church parking lot! None of our middle and high school students will want to miss it! More details coming soon.

Adults

• Check out these great opportunities for discipleship and connection!

“The History of Christianity” with Alex 
https://bostonu.zoom.us/j/2063751820  Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m.

“Epic of Eden” Study of the Old Testament with Tammy
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84838753609  Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88219114753  Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m.

“Oasis” Small Group with Mel & Ellen Bower
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84479423808  Sunday evenings at 6 p.m.

 “Book of Numbers” Study with Bill Scarle
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81970685527  Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m.

Missions

• A huge thank you for everyone who contributed to restocking our Westshore Elementary Food Pantry!  Our shelves are well stocked for now.
• Faith Café, one of our local soup kitchens that serves our neighbors in need with dignity and respect, continues to need a lead volunteer for Tuesdays. Contact Greg Jones at gjones@rywantalvarez.com to see if this might be a good fit for you to serve our Tampa Bay community.
• Check out this upcoming fundraiser for our mission partner LOVE Inc.: LOVE Inc. Fundraiser

Check our latest newsletter here: Bayshore Connection Sept 2020

Inside you’ll find a letter from Pastor Alex, a COVID-19 update, information on all Bayshore’s upcoming online Bible studies and spiritual formation groups, and more!

Click here to view our bulletin: Sunday Bulletin 9-27-2020

Dear friends,

I hope you are all staying safe and staying at home as much as possible!  As things continue changing quickly in our area, please know that you are in my prayers.  If there is anything we can do to serve you, be that delivering groceries or praying together, we are here for you.  Please do not hesitate to let us know.

Please take note of a few updates:

1. We are no longer holding scheduled office hours in preparation of a local or statewide stay-at-home order.  Based on available data, staying at home seems to be the best practice for us all, and we want to be proactive in modeling this.  You can contact us with any need you may have by phone or email.  We are still checking these messages as we work from homes.  Should you have a pastoral emergency, please contact Alex directly at (678) 758-5167.
2. You can continue giving your offering online here: GIVE ONLINE or by mailing your gift to us at 3111 W. Morrison Ave, Tampa, FL 33629.  We are still receiving mail!
3. Join us for worship this Sunday at 10:30am on Facebook live or our website.  Other updates are available in these places as well.  If you know of someone unable to access our content online, please let us know.
4. The deacons and staff are in the process of contacting every member of our church family.  Let us know how we can better serve our community during these days or of an urgent need, please let us know.
5. Again, stay safe and stay home!

Sincerely in Christ,

Alex

Amazon Smile

When you shop at http://smile.amazon.com/ Amazon will donate to Bayshore! It really is that simple. AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Bayshore every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at AmazonSmile, you’ll find the exact same convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to Bayshore once you designate it as your favorite charitable organization.

A Touch Of Grace is a salon serving both women and men at Hyde Park ALF which will be open the first & third Friday, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM of each month. We are so excited to offer free salon services to our Hyde Park friends. Want to get involved? We need salon supplies, hosts, people to wash or cut hair and paint nails, and more… See Aurora Smith.

Book Club

Do you think that half the fun of reading a book is discussing it with friends afterwards? Then the Bayshore Baptist Book Club is for you! We meet the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at Bayshore, in the front lobby by the elevators.

For more information, join the Bayshore Baptist Book Club group on Facebook, or contact Lisa McCarter at 813-743-5113 or via email at tampafilmfan@aol.com.

Barnabas Ministry

Do you ever go to your mailbox only to be disappointed by what was in it? Bills, junk mail, and unwanted political propaganda make for a sad mailbox. The Barnabas Ministry is an opportunity to fill our college students’ mailboxes with notes of encouragement. Bayshore is looking for “Barnabases” to be paired with our college students.

If you are interested in this ministry of encouragement, please contact Dina Marshall.

If you like to or want to learn how to refurbish “stuff” to be used to give young adults in need their first homes, join us. Every Wednesday a team of people will meet from 6:30 – 7:30pm in the First Nesters Studio on the 2nd floor. Childcare is provided.

While we have many friends from Hyde Park ALF who worship and mingle with us on Wednesdays and Sundays, there are some people who simply aren’t mobile enough to leave the property. Join a group of Bayshore family who are leading worship onsite at the ALF on the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm.

Meet in the dining room at 3011 W. DeLeon Street, only ½ mile from Bayshore. Questions, contact Jim Neill.