Hill Family,
I write to encourage us as a church and communicate some information going forward. Though different, hopefully yesterday you were able to worship the LORD as a family. My family enjoyed worship with some friends from outside of our church we know through my daughter’s school. We thought about asking them to fill out a connect card:))
For legal, medical, and practical reasons we have decided to suspend all official church activities through Saturday, March 28, at this point. This includes gathered worship and community groups. Given the changing nature of the news, we feel it best to not make plans beyond the 28th, as of now. We will spend this month planning what our community groups will look like in April. Our goal is to continue gathering in community groups, even if we are forced to do this entirely online. We pray that’s not the case, but ask you to be flexible if so. Though our preference is always to gather in-person, for the near future we’ll stream our worship services online. Please be diligent to join us on Sunday mornings! More information will be coming out this week regarding details here.
As we gather in our homes, let us be mindful that God is sovereign over every season of our lives, even this one. Furthermore, let’s remember that our brothers and sisters around the globe are used to “irregular” gatherings and having to be flexible as they live as the church. This is also not the first time the church has found itself in such a situation within our country. In 1918, all protestant churches in America were not able to meet for nearly a month due to the Spanish Bird Flu. HERE is a helpful article on this which brings some perspective on our current situation as believer in the 21st century.
We recognize that in light of the present situation, some challenges and needs may arise from within our church body such as lost wages, increased child-care needs, lack of access to certain resources, etc. The elders and deacons are seeking to give heightened attention to any practical needs facing our church body, especially our seniors who are being contacted directly. If this situation is impacting you practically, we would like to know about possible ways we can help as leaders and as a church family. Please reach out to us with any needs so that we can pray and strategize as to how best to meet the needs of the church body during this time.
Please feel free to share any questions or concerns that you have with us. We are praying for you, and are eager to serve you in any way we can during this challenging time. Be sure to watch our Facebook page and Website for upcoming information.
In Christ,
Pastor Jimmy