Weekly Update from Pastor Kent

Prayer of the Week:

Though we walk in the shadows, your light shines. Though we fear death, you set a table before us. Though we are buffeted and shaken, a cloak of light you wrap around our every trouble. Here in this moment, shepherd us through our fears and lead us beside the still waters of a peace not dependent on the affairs of the world. With your healing hand, restore us who are ill and heal those who are broken. We pray to be in the light amidst present darkness; to BE light, made so by your grace. When we are tempted to despair help us walk as children illuminated and incandescent with your love. Following your Christ, serving your people, make us better than we feel and lighter despite our heavy burdens. For in you, with you, and because of you, we will walk and fear no evil. Our cup overflows with blessings still, O holy one, O guardian of our blessings. 

Greetings church members, friends, and family,

I hope you are holding up in these strange times! The prayer above was offered on Sunday and I hope to send them out for you each week as a resource for your worship at home. Spiritual care is important to our well-being and I hope this will help you care for yourself in that way.
Your church leadership has been working hard dealing as fast as we can with the needs. Everything about church is changing hourly it seems, except our desire to be loving, powerful agents of God’s grace. Doing that however has meant a steep learning curve for me and your hardworking church staff!  Thank you for your prayers and your patience, and thank you for caring for being the church, even while distant from each other.

Here’s what’s going on and How You Can Help:

• Join me for Coffee with the Pastor Tomorrow: We had about 25 people join in our Zoom Coffee Hour and there’s room for plenty more. I’d love to see you and you can see each other, too! Next one will be Tomorrow at 11am. I’ll get on a schedule eventually, and I’ll be doing some evening check-in’s too, for those of you who would prefer later in the day. I miss you all, and want to connect.Join the Coffee Hour by clicking on your mobile device. Or you can call the numbers for just voice.
  https://zoom.us/j/343969325    Meeting ID: 343 969 325One tap mobile
  +19294362866,,343969325#
• The camera is helping so much! Now we need operators! So many people have written to say how meaningful the services have been and we’ve made great strides in our web-streaming. We are getting more views than ever before, but we need more volunteers to make it possible.  It takes a minimum of three helpers to run the service each week. We need enough trained people (12) so each one can do it just once a month. Several have stepped up, but we need about 6 more.  If you are willing, please send me an email. We’ll have a socially distanced training in the very near future. We anticipate we will have online-only services for at least the next 2 months.
• Interested in being a “Digital Deacon?”: In the bible the apostles appointed deacons to help make sure that community needs were met. Our Sunday community is now online and I’d like the same level of care and hospitality to prevail on our FaceBook and YouTube page as in our sanctuary. Digital Deacons would be moderators monitoring one of those pages in order to respond to comments, offer a greeting from a live person, and connect people to me or other services of the church. Interested? Call me, text me, private message me, email me!
• Holy Week at Home: Because of C19, there will be no in-person Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday or Easter Morning services. The members of the worship team and I are thinking of some creative ways that we can create resources for meaningful household worship. There will be broadcasts, too, and as plans solidify I’ll make sure to let you know. Palms will be available for your at-home Palm Sunday on April 5. We’ll leave them in vases outside the church for pick up.
• Get Together With Friends! You can personally use Zoom for free for up to 100 people as long as you don’t exceed 40 minute gatherings. Sign up, and find tutorials, etc at www.zoom.us. You can have birthday parties, morning coffees, or just keep up with family.
• Covid-19 News: I’m sure you have all been following the events and see that the scope of the pandemic is only now beginning to show. With cases now confirmed in nearly every county, I have asked all groups to stop meeting in person, both at the church and in homes. I cannot stress how strained our hospitals already are. Please wash your hands before and after any contact with others, even family members. Please do not engage in or encourage dangerous gatherings. Our faith in God is a faith in God’s love for all people. We are demonstrating that love right now by keeping distant, interrupting infection, and keeping the Spirit alive.

I know this is a difficult time full of anxieties. I am eager to know your prayers and to join you in your petitions for strength, hope, love, and even joy. We cannot postpone joy, my friends, even if we cannot act upon it the way we are used to. So please let your church family help if we can: to celebrate, to commiserate, to lament, and to bless the holy ground of our fellowship. In the word’s of a great folk song, “We have prayed and sung and celebrated so many a time, and so will we yet!”
Look for more information and let me know if you need help connecting via conference call or with Zoom. I’ve asked Rev. Carla to mobilize some of you to be callers so we can “look in” on everyone. I hope they will find you well and loving your family and friends. You are the church that inspires me, my friends. Thank you for all you are doing.
In great love,