As July Aproaches...
As the end of June approaches I wanted to share some updates with our Central Baptist community.
Vacation
This Sunday, June 28, will be my last sermon before I begin my vacation. Because CoVid-19 has changed so many plans, included my scheduled time off during the Spring, I'll be taking off the four Sundays of July. I'm very much looking forward to the rest so I can, as Peg Horton used to say, "Let my spirit catch up to my body."
During my time off pastoral needs can be directed to the Church office.
Worship
In July, we will move our worship inside to the Sunday School Auditorium. Masks will be required, and both social distancing and zero contact mitigation will be in place. As present, with distancing in place, our maximum capacity in the room is thirty persons. Please, if you are in an elevated risk category, remain home. And if you are sick in any way, please do likewise. We will continue to stream worship, which will be available on our website, YouTube channel, and Facebook page. Because we will not be using print bulletins for the foreseeable future, every subscriber to our mailing list will have the weekly bulletin, stream link, and worship lyrics sent to your email address!
Because running Air Conditioning units like ours is not recommended, we'll also be moving our start time up one hour. In July and August, worship will begin at 9:30 AM. For similar reasons, all music indoors will be instrumental.
I am pleased to announce, however, that Pastor Ronnie will be preaching each Sunday in July!
This Sunday, June 28, our worship will be outdoors.
Finances
I cannot stress enough how grateful I am to our community for the faithfulness we've shown. We made a deliberate decision to not stress finances during the pandemic shut down, choosing instead to focus on a sustained call for faithful living in all things. Even still, people have gone out of their way to get their offerings to the Church---which means we are far less financially stressed than many congregations, even with the added support we've given to local causes. So, thank you for your continued support during strange and uncertain days---but I rejoice in the ways the folks who make up our church are living for others. Well done!
I will, however, make one request for support this month. The Taques family is settled in their apartment, but are still in a precarious financial situation. If you would consider making a donation to the family towards their July rent, they would be most grateful---and so would I.
To donate click/tap this link and choose "Taques Family Support" in the designated field.
Building Use
Our building is now open for use by both the Brazilian congregation (now renamed IDE, which means, "To Go") and AA. Each group is adhering to our mitigation strategies and is cleaning all touched surfaces after each gathering. WIC has also reached out about offering their services from our building once more, and I will be in contact with them this week.
Because the building is becoming an active space, if you do need to come for any reason please remember to wash your hands and refrain from touching your face. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," as the old saying goes.
A Personal Note
This has not been an easy season for any of us, and it's likely to continue for many more months. Despite the difficulties, however, I have never been more proud to be the pastor of Central Baptist Church. The way the members of our congregation have looked out for one another is nothing short of amazing. The vision of our council to increase our giving to different ministries, as well as the support offered to the Taques family as they returned to the USA, has been a wonderful witness to our faith. The amount of participation during our Sunday streams, and the creative ways people have worked to remain connected, have given me great joy.
This journey we are on, as much as it feels like it's already been forever, is just beginning. We have many more months in which mitigation in place, which may become extended as people give up in frustration and try to sneak in some "old normal" to their Summer celebrations. And even when the CoVid-19 crisis finally passes, it will be some time before things feel "normal" again.
When frustration mounts on this journey, as it will, look at the good work which this crisis has sparked among us. And in that glimpse, find a moment of encouragement. Our faith is strong, our savior is great, the Kingdom is still present all around us. We still have work to do.
Let's take a cue from Martin Luther, who wrote a letter on dealing with the plague when it returned to Wittenberg in 1527.
Use medicine; take potions which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor does not need your presence or has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire which instead of consuming wood and straw devours life and body? You ought to think this way: “Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison and deadly offal. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely...
This is the way of the Cross. May our savior, by the power of the Holy Spirit, continue guide us all in his ways.
God bless you all.