PCUMC Coronavirus Update #5 - April 2, 2020
Dear Church Family,
When the Israelites were facing an enemy that seemed frightening, the scripture tells us in Deuteronomy 31 that God told them to “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
As we face this terrible virus together as a church, we know that even in the midst of uncertainty and feelings of helplessness, we remember God is with us and gives us victory for this life and for eternity. Hold fast to God, and may His Holy Spirit enter your life to give you peace.
Pastor Tom
Our church building is still closed
To comply with the guidelines our government and health officials have requested, we are not opening our buildings up for general gatherings. This will continue at least through the middle of April, and probably until the end of the month. This includes Easter and all of our Holy Week activities.
There are a small number of employees who are working from the church to keep the necessary connections continuing. We also have a few activities that we have determined can be done safely to provide for the poor or to provide worship and continuing ministry to our church congregation. We are following safe distancing policies during these activities and minimize the number of people involved.
Please stay connected
We are providing services and other activities online.
Each week we are offering a recorded worship service that is streamed Sunday morning at 9:00 and 11:15. You can watch on Facebook at those times to chat with others watching, or you can watch it at any time by going to our website at pendletonchurch.org.
Most evenings on Facebook, there is a time of live worship music at 8:30 PM and live devotion & prayer following at 9:00 PM.
Every Wednesday, Pastor Tom is continuing his Bible study with a focus on the exile stories. This recording is streamed at 6:30 PM on our Facebook Page, so you can chat with others watching. It will also be available to watch on our website afterward.
Tuesday mornings at 9:00 AM, Pastor Lisa is hosting Morning Movement on our Facebook Group. Join her for light stretching and strengthening exercises that can be done standing or from a chair, to get you excited about rejoicing and being glad in the day that the Lord has made!
Other groups and activities are happening that you can find out about using our website or social media:
Website: pendletonchurch.org
Facebook Page: pendletoncenterumc
Instagram: @pendletonchurch
Talk with others in our Facebook Group, PCUMC Fellowship Group.
Children and youth
We also have gatherings and lessons for our children and youth online as well. Those leaders are in touch with the families of children and youth.
Holy Week?
We intend to have services online provided for Holy Week on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. I know it isn’t the same as being at the church, but we need to keep our traditions as best we can.
Concerns
There are many concerns in our congregations. I want to particularly hold up the families of long time members Ursula Morrison and Mike Maciejewski, who passed into glory this week. Memorial services are being planned.
Pray for Pat Hahn and Irene Tate, who are hospitalized with serious concerns. So far, we have no one who has been at the church for several weeks who are infected, but we do have a couple of families that are struggling with the coronavirus they contracted recently.
We are asking people to pray. Each week we have a different focus for prayer, and we are asking people to commit to prayer by making a note on their Friendship Card Online or emailing Pastor Lisa at [email protected].
If you can help or need help
If you need help or can give it to someone in our community of faith, please contact Gidget Meland at [email protected]. If you can help with calling people and caring for people, please contact Pastor Sherry Mahar at [email protected].
Giving your offering
Obviously, the church still has bills to pay, and many Christians consider it part of their discipleship to give an offering to God through the church. We know some people are struggling financially in this crisis, and we don’t want you to try to give a gift to the church you cannot afford. We also know that some of our people are still able and desiring to give their gift to God.
The easiest way is to send a check or money transfer to the church. Someone is checking the mail at both churches. The other way is to use the giving button located on our website.
“But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face.” -1 Thessalonians 2
What are we going to do when it’s over?
Obviously, we will all breathe a collective sigh of relief and mourn for those who were hurt by this virus. Then we will celebrate together. We will engage the activities we associate with spring, but there will also likely be Easter portions in the services, an egg hunt, and even likely a fish fry or two. Mostly we will see each other and remember the God who makes us brothers and sisters and “Never leaves us or forsakes us.” We need to remember we will again gather together, and we will have activities and programs and services, and we will be planning on that now because God will bring us back together again.
To stay up to date on our church activities, you can continue to check our website or follow us on social media: