Ways to Serve the Church while We are Apart
I know that some of you are itching to get back together. It has been a long time since we have seen each other in person, but we continue to wait as we seek to care for our neighbors. While Governor Holcomb’s plan, Back on Track Indiana allows churches to begin gathering in person indoors on May 8, we are still encouraged to conduct as many activities remotely as possible and to encourage those over age 65 or with underlying health conditions to stay home. In light of that and coupled with Bishop Bill Gafkjen’s recommendations, we will continue to worship at home during this time until the Leadership Team decides otherwise. As Bishop Bill reminds us, “As we consider our local responses to this news, the ancient apostle Paul’s guidance can assist our discernment about whether and when to gather in-person for worship: While it might be “lawful” to do so, that does not mean that we should necessarily do it. Rather, we are called to keep our focus on doing what is beneficial, what builds up, and what addresses not only our own needs and well-being, but the needs and wellbeing of others.”
Even when we return to worshiping in person, we know that there will be some who cannot join us, either due to health underlying concerns or need to quarantine after exposure. We also know that, even when we begin to worship in person, we may have to stop it at times and return to worshiping remotely and that our gatherings will be different than what we are used to as we figure out how to accommodate physical distancing needs.
In order to continue to facilitate our community connections, there are several ways you can serve:
Host a virtual coffee hour or other gathering through a video conferencing app.
Serve as a lector or lead prayers for our Sunday worship service. All you need is to take a selfie video and send it to Pastor Lecia by the Thursday before.
Host a worship “watch party” on Facebook.
If you are interested in serving in any of these ways (even if you haven’t done it before!) or have other ideas of how you can serve our community, please contact Pastor Lecia.
We truly appreciate everyone who has made an effort to continue their offerings as they are able, whether signing up to use Tithe.ly or mailing them to the office. Your support has been invaluable. With seven new Tithe.ly users, we have received an extra offering of $350 ($50 per new user). We have also received money from the CARES Act’s Payroll Protection Program. Coupled with your generosity, we will be able to weather these difficulties.
This is also a time when we can engage more deeply in discipleship. If you are interested in having a 1:1 with Pastor Lecia about growing your life of discipleship, you can sign up for a time or email her with several possible times to meet. We can either meet on the phone or with video conferencing.
Through this time, we have seen that the church is truly more than a building. When we worship or study, when we check in on others or give generously, we are being the church and through us, the kingdom of God is being built.
In the abiding hope of the Risen Lord,
Pastor Lecia