Dear Friends,

            In the week since we canceled worship and other activities at the church through Mar 27, things have changed again.  Unfortunately, not for the better just yet.  The session was able to meet via video on Sunday, Mar 22 and made a few plans moving forward.  I want to share those with you.

1.      We will continue the suspension of worship and other church activities through April 5.  We will continue to monitor CDC guidance as well as state public health guidance and make changes as soon as we can.  If the guidelines regarding public gatherings and social distancing continue past April 5, we will update you on Holy Week and Easter plans.

2.     While we are not gathering in person, we are going to attempt to gather on Facebook Live for worship each Sunday at 11am.  These will be live from my house!  During the live events you will be able to leave comments so we can continue our practice of offering joys and concerns as we pray together.  It may be a bit awkward at first, but we will get the hang of it! You do not have to be on Facebook to watch the live presentations, so we’ll send the link later in the week and you can join us if you are able.  You will also be able to watch the live event later in the day too.

3.     In addition to FB live worship, I will also attempt a mid-week devotion on FB live each Wednesday at noon.  These will also be from my house!  I am hoping this Wednesday’s live devotional will serve as a rehearsal of sorts for Sunday’s worship.

4.     I will begin sending weekly email letters that will also be snail mailed out to our members who do not have email or internet (they are getting this one that way too!).  The letters will have information as well as encouragement and spiritual nurture and updated prayer concerns. 

5.     Session has divided up the congregation and friends of Bethel and will make weekly calls as long as we are unable to gather together.  These calls will give us another way to stay connected and make sure everyone is ok and has what they need. 

6.     We are looking into using ZOOM for video meetings.  More information will come especially for teams that may need to meet that way.

7.     Lastly, we want to remind everyone that though we are not gathering, the session has agreed to continue paying our staff and meeting our commitments to ministries and missions that are in our budget.  So please, if you are able, continue your giving to the church either by mailing a check or by donating online:  https://www.bethelpcusa.org/give/.  Someone will be checking the mail regularly and we will continue weekly deposits. 

During this time of closed schools, I will be working from home and attempting to homeschool my children.  I look forward to trying new ways of connecting through worship and devotion on FB live as well as tried and true ways of phone calls and emails.  With God’s grace, a bit of humor, and the willingness to try new things, we will persevere. 

Grace and peace,

Wendy