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Our March 22 service for anyone who might have missed it!
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4.3.2020
Dear Trinity and friends,
It has been a hectic last two and one-half weeks. I wanted give everyone an overview of what my priorities these last couple of weeks have been. This is a little longer than the normal “check-in,” but I hope you find it worth reading.
Governor Holcomb and the Bishop gave directives the week of March 15 that asked us to cancel worship services for groups of 50 or more. The next Monday they asked that no meetings of 10 or more people be held, and that people should work from home if possible. This has affected all of us.
Trinity basically had one day to prepare to close the office. Staff and a few “deputized” staff divided up tasks and got to work. (Nancy Ferris, Nancy Hoeffer, and Vickie Juhasz "happened" to be in the building. I believe in "divine" appointments!) Now that the social distancing guidelines have been extended and tightened, I am so grateful for how much the wonderful staff and volunteers at Trinity got done in a short time.
Here have been the things we have worked on since then.
1) We moved quickly to online services. We got one out the first Sunday we couldn’t meet and have learned a lot since then! (Thank you, Cathy, Sandy, Mike and others!) We are adding more help and features each week. We are now preparing Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday worship services, as well as simple Maundy Thursday and Good Friday opportunities to worship. Please pray for our Easter service especially. Many people may be open to Jesus this Easter.
2) We "fast tracked" the "Connectors Team" ministry. Vickie has done a wonderful job organizing it and we have GREAT volunteers helping. I am hearing positive things from people every day.
3) We've upped our emails and newsletter frequency. (Thank you, Lisa!)
4) We have maintained tithes and offerings through regular mail and are ready to offer online options this next week. (Thank you, Sharon!)
5) We've now starting to promote at-home discipleship with more focus. Dave Williams and others have taken on a role in this. I hope you watched his video! (See the link on the Beyond Sunday page of our website.) These efforts will increase.
6) We have had other things going on, (e.g., thank you Sharon and Jim Baldwin for considering the CARES Act) but the next big thing I'd like you to pray for is how we might best serve the community (nation, world?) as a united church. Individuals and groups have already made masks, donated things, etc., but what would be the one or two things we could do as a united church that would be most impactful? I see needs resulting from this crisis being longer-term, so I would like us to be thoughtful and prayerful rather than reactive. I am not asking for new ideas right now! We have many ideas! I am asking for prayers for us to select the right one or more things to do as a church.
This is a good time to remember John Wesley’s 3 general rules:
1. Do no harm.
2. Do good.
3. Stay in love with God.
#1 is more important than ever. As individuals we may not fear the coronavirus, but we don’t want to unintentionally pass it on to someone who might be harmed. There is no way we can 100% socially isolate ourselves, especially in the long run. But we can do our best not to harm others. Trinity is made up of active, socially engaged people. These are hard times! But please keep in mind rule #1 in balance with rules #2 and #3. Of course, I think #3 is the key!
I will be sending out a "Check-In" email a little later, but wanted to update you on the efforts Trinity has made the last two weeks.
I really do believe that God has Trinity in this place at this time for His purpose.
Pastor Jeff
"Feed the faith. Starve the fear."
Dear Trinity and friends,
It has been a hectic last two and one-half weeks. I wanted give everyone an overview of what my priorities these last couple of weeks have been. This is a little longer than the normal “check-in,” but I hope you find it worth reading.
Governor Holcomb and the Bishop gave directives the week of March 15 that asked us to cancel worship services for groups of 50 or more. The next Monday they asked that no meetings of 10 or more people be held, and that people should work from home if possible. This has affected all of us.
Trinity basically had one day to prepare to close the office. Staff and a few “deputized” staff divided up tasks and got to work. (Nancy Ferris, Nancy Hoeffer, and Vickie Juhasz "happened" to be in the building. I believe in "divine" appointments!) Now that the social distancing guidelines have been extended and tightened, I am so grateful for how much the wonderful staff and volunteers at Trinity got done in a short time.
Here have been the things we have worked on since then.
1) We moved quickly to online services. We got one out the first Sunday we couldn’t meet and have learned a lot since then! (Thank you, Cathy, Sandy, Mike and others!) We are adding more help and features each week. We are now preparing Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday worship services, as well as simple Maundy Thursday and Good Friday opportunities to worship. Please pray for our Easter service especially. Many people may be open to Jesus this Easter.
2) We "fast tracked" the "Connectors Team" ministry. Vickie has done a wonderful job organizing it and we have GREAT volunteers helping. I am hearing positive things from people every day.
3) We've upped our emails and newsletter frequency. (Thank you, Lisa!)
4) We have maintained tithes and offerings through regular mail and are ready to offer online options this next week. (Thank you, Sharon!)
5) We've now starting to promote at-home discipleship with more focus. Dave Williams and others have taken on a role in this. I hope you watched his video! (See the link on the Beyond Sunday page of our website.) These efforts will increase.
6) We have had other things going on, (e.g., thank you Sharon and Jim Baldwin for considering the CARES Act) but the next big thing I'd like you to pray for is how we might best serve the community (nation, world?) as a united church. Individuals and groups have already made masks, donated things, etc., but what would be the one or two things we could do as a united church that would be most impactful? I see needs resulting from this crisis being longer-term, so I would like us to be thoughtful and prayerful rather than reactive. I am not asking for new ideas right now! We have many ideas! I am asking for prayers for us to select the right one or more things to do as a church.
This is a good time to remember John Wesley’s 3 general rules:
1. Do no harm.
2. Do good.
3. Stay in love with God.
#1 is more important than ever. As individuals we may not fear the coronavirus, but we don’t want to unintentionally pass it on to someone who might be harmed. There is no way we can 100% socially isolate ourselves, especially in the long run. But we can do our best not to harm others. Trinity is made up of active, socially engaged people. These are hard times! But please keep in mind rule #1 in balance with rules #2 and #3. Of course, I think #3 is the key!
I will be sending out a "Check-In" email a little later, but wanted to update you on the efforts Trinity has made the last two weeks.
I really do believe that God has Trinity in this place at this time for His purpose.
Pastor Jeff
"Feed the faith. Starve the fear."