Friday, March 13, 2020
Church family, I want to speak to you this afternoon about the ongoing concerns with the COVID-19 Coronoavirus and how we will respond as a church to this growing situation.
First, we want to have a faith filled response to this situation. We are not going to panic or live in fear because we know that the Lord is in control of all things. Our trust is in Him, not man. Scripture says to us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” 2 Timothy 1:7 and in Psalm 56:3 we find this powerful statement, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” We will face and minister to others with a bold and strong faith in the Lord who controls all things.
Second, Paul told Timothy that God has given us a spirit of a sound mind. In other words, we should walk in the wisdom of the Lord in all we do. We ought to use our faith coupled with our common sense in response to this event. I have been learning all I can about this virus to make a decision about how we ought to respond to the Coronavirus. I have consulted with our church staff and our deacons receiving feedback from all of them.
So, we will adopt the following changes beginning this Sunday at church. However, as new information is received even these changes may be replaced by others. It is a situation that requires monitoring on a daily basis. I have read through the CDC recommendations and these changes are based on how best to protect all of us but certainly the most vulnerable of us.
Your help is needed to disperse this information as not everyone in our church is connected via social media or even email. If you teach, lead, or attend a group, I would ask that you call people in those groups to let them know about these changes. We will post any updates as quickly as we can to social media and through church publications.
Together, we will get through this situation without fear or panic but filled with the peace of knowing the Lord is in control of everything. But let’s use this time to reach out to others in our church family and community who may need help. Let’s be the light and salt of the world to a world who needs to know Jesus.
Trusting the Lord fully,
Pastor Walter
Church family, I want to speak to you this afternoon about the ongoing concerns with the COVID-19 Coronoavirus and how we will respond as a church to this growing situation.
First, we want to have a faith filled response to this situation. We are not going to panic or live in fear because we know that the Lord is in control of all things. Our trust is in Him, not man. Scripture says to us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” 2 Timothy 1:7 and in Psalm 56:3 we find this powerful statement, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” We will face and minister to others with a bold and strong faith in the Lord who controls all things.
Second, Paul told Timothy that God has given us a spirit of a sound mind. In other words, we should walk in the wisdom of the Lord in all we do. We ought to use our faith coupled with our common sense in response to this event. I have been learning all I can about this virus to make a decision about how we ought to respond to the Coronavirus. I have consulted with our church staff and our deacons receiving feedback from all of them.
So, we will adopt the following changes beginning this Sunday at church. However, as new information is received even these changes may be replaced by others. It is a situation that requires monitoring on a daily basis. I have read through the CDC recommendations and these changes are based on how best to protect all of us but certainly the most vulnerable of us.
- We will suspend physical contact such as handshaking, hugging, or holy kisses. Give everyone a holy elbow bump or a smile with a wave.
- We encourage everyone to wash your hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds while rubbing your hands together. We have also installed hand sanitizer stations all throughout both buildings but hand sanitizer is not a substitute for washing your hands!
- We ask that if you or your children are sick with any kind of symptoms, please do not attend. This is for the safety of all.
- We would ask that you consider not attending if you have existing health issues that make you more susceptible to disease or if you have a weakened immune system.
- We would ask that those over the age of 65, which are the most vulnerable to the Coronavirus, to consider staying home to avoid any possible exposure.
- We will have ushers with offering plates at each exit as you leave the worship center rather than passing the plates as usual.
- We will have Sunday School/Small Groups as usual this Sunday.
- We will suspend all coffee and food service in The Gathering Place this week.
- We are cancelling all Wednesday night activities for this coming week including the Wednesday night meal.
- The Open Wide Dental Clinic is suspended until further notice.
- The Regional Food Bank has informed us that the Fresh Food Mobile Market is suspended until further notice.
- Our Sunday morning service is livestreamed to Facebook. Just look for the Portland Avenue Facebook page.
Your help is needed to disperse this information as not everyone in our church is connected via social media or even email. If you teach, lead, or attend a group, I would ask that you call people in those groups to let them know about these changes. We will post any updates as quickly as we can to social media and through church publications.
Together, we will get through this situation without fear or panic but filled with the peace of knowing the Lord is in control of everything. But let’s use this time to reach out to others in our church family and community who may need help. Let’s be the light and salt of the world to a world who needs to know Jesus.
Trusting the Lord fully,
Pastor Walter