Dear St. John’s Family,
A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing …
Ecclesiastes 3:5
These ancient words are taking on all new meaning in this
strange time in our world. A time to refrain from embracing seems to fit during
this time of physical distancing as we collectively discern how to move through
the COVID 19 pandemic. Many of our hearts
desire to embrace one another and be physically present with one another, but
we know that is not going to be our reality right now, and for some time to
come. Our Consistory and leadership have decided, in accordance with the
recommendations from our state and national government recommendations, to keep
our facility closed at least during the month of April. We will continue to
evaluate and determine an appropriate and healthy time to return to worship and
gathering and keep you posted with that information.
In the meantime, we are striving to offer worship
possibilities for as many people as possible in as many forms as possible.
1)
We will continue to post the service on Facebook
live, which then becomes accessible even after the live broadcast for anyone to
watch and/or share.
2)
We will continue to record the service and post
it to YouTube along with Children’s church as it is available.
3) Those who ordered Easter flowers will be
able to pick them up after they are delivered to us (sometime on Good Friday,
April 10th) The flowers will be located in the Narthex. Once we find
out the delivery time, you will receive a phone call as to when to pick them
up.
4)
We are working on ways to provide worshiping
opportunities for those who do not have internet through recordings of the
services, etc. We will continue to work on this.
As far as other ministry possibilities
1)
I am working on a Bible Study to share as a ZOOM
connection. I ordered several copies of the book “The Walk” by Adam Hamilton. I
can get those to folks who would like to participate. If you are interested in ordering
a copy of the book on your own they are available from Amazon and other book
distributors. Please let me know if you would like to participate, and if so,
if Wednesday mornings and/or Wednesday evenings would work better for you to
sign on to the gathering. The study
shares fairly basic understandings of faith, but I believe it will foster good
conversation among us.
2)
We are still planning to provide Easter Baskets
in Coordination with Union County Children and Youth. Due to the current
crisis, we are asking those who would like to contribute to the baskets to
contribute monetarily. The Mission and
Social Action committee, especially the Rautzhans, will be coordinating the
purchasing and packing of the baskets so that the Children and Youth workers
can pick them up outside at the picnic tables. Thanks, everyone, for your work
towards making these baskets happen for our neighbors who need them.
3)
Most of all, we are still here for you, even though
we are not able to be physically present in the ways we are used to. Please let
Todd or me know if there are ways we can be supportive or things that you
need.
We will continue to keep you updated with ministries and
activities. I know that we continue to hold each other in prayer AND I believe
that God will sustain us and keep us through this time of challenge!
Love
and Blessings! Pastor Alice
Dear St. John’s:
I hope you are all doing what you can to provide for the
safety and well-being of your family and friends. We are certainly living in
interesting and challenging times. We
are blessed to have each other and the security our beloved church provides.
While we are all faced with uncertainty in the weeks
ahead. Please know that St. John’s
remains committed to you and our community.
However, this commitment comes with financial obligations. We still have a working staff and bills that
must be paid.
I am writing to ask you to remember we have these
obligations and to find a way to continue to support St. John’s
financially. You have several options to
make this commitment.
Option 1: Complete your offering envelope, as
you would normally do with an enclosed check and mail that in an envelope to:
St.
John’s UCC
1050
Buffalo Road
Lewisburg,
PA 17837
Option
2: If you utilize online bill
pay with your bank, you can establish that a check is regularly sent to St.
John’s. You can have it sent weekly,
bi-weekly or monthly. Make your account
number the same as the number on your envelopes. Unless you note differently in the memo line,
all these funds will be applied to current expenses.
If you are in need of further assistance, please feel free to contact,
me, Pastor Alice or Consistory President, Deb Catherman.
Our greatest need remains Current Expenses. We have some investment funds that can help
us through this difficult time, but we rely heavily on our weekly
offerings. We remain committed to our
mission goals, as well. You can still
mail in your communion offering, despite us not having communion together.
Thank you for all your support during this time and your commitment to
St. John’s.
Sincerely,
Duane Snayberger
Treasurer
