Posts from June 2020
June 26 | Pastoral Reflections on God’s Goodness to Us
Dear friends, It has been a joy to see many of you in person as our worship services have resumed. Church life remains far from optimal, with our limited capacity and curtailed programs, together with the fact that many of you do not feel comfortable attending in person yet. We also face unknowns about how the progress of the pandemic may affect our church. Nevertheless, every inch toward normalcy makes me feel grateful! Pastor Steve and I have sought to…
June 26 | Drive Up Service with the Lord’s Supper
This information appeared in the Messages of Grace Weekly Newsletter. We will be offering our first drive up service with the Lord’s Supper this Sunday, June 28th at 10 am. The drive up service aims not to replace the normal morning worship service but to supplement it with an opportunity to take the communion for those who cannot attend worship in the building. The service will be brief, consisting of a call to worship, opening prayer, short message, Lord’s Supper, and…
June 11 | Pastoral Thoughts on Making the Best Use of Our Time
Dear friends, The American educator Horace Mann once placed this ad in a paper: “LOST, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever.” Time is something that can’t be recovered. Since this is so, how should we use what we’ve been given? The Apostle Paul tells us, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of…
June 5 | IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THE SERVICE AND THE LORD’S SUPPER
(Distributed via MailChimp “Messages of Grace weekly email June 5) The Service Format Our service during the reopening phase will look a bit different. Mindful that we are guarding against COVID infection, we will seek to keep the whole service within 60 minutes. We will also celebrate the Lord’s Supper weekly, which will enable the whole church to participate as members take turns attending in person. Instead of reciting the 10 Commandments as we normally do when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we…
June 4 | Pastoral Thoughts on Our Current Trials
Dear church family, Who could have predicted the trials we’ve seen in 2020? We’re facing a global pandemic that has claimed many lives. Unemployment has skyrocketed, and millions of people are facing severe economic hardships, including food insecurity. And now, our country has been torn by the tragic death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of a white police officer. There aren’t words that can adequately express the grief, anger, and heartache many feel. Old wounds…