Church family,
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the elders have decided to suspend all services, events, and church functions for the next two weeks beginning today. This includes worship and members meeting tomorrow (Sunday, March 15), groups, and the women's book study scheduled to begin this week. This was a tough decision to make -- we LOVE our regular gatherings & meetings with our church family -- but we feel this to be the most responsible thing to do.
Why make this decision?
We are not making this decision because we’re afraid, but because we want to do our part in slowing the spread of the virus in our community. The data suggests that we could see a surge of infections in the near future. The only surefire way to prevent this is to avoid contact with large groups of people. Additionally, all the data indicates that this is indeed more dangerous than the seasonal flu, particularly for the older population. For this reason, the pastors determined suspending all activities for the next two weeks was the most loving thing we could do. To be clear, we don't know of any current or potential cases in our church; we are simply trying to cooperate with the communal effort to prevent spread.
How do we respond?
There are two wrong ways to respond, each sitting on opposite ends of a spectrum: panic or presumption. Panic looks like hurrying to the grocery store to buy all the sanitizer and toilet paper and leaving none for others. Panic looks like losing sleep and worrying over the fate of our families, heads swirling with so much information. Presumption looks like shrugging off the threat and taking none of the sobering reports seriously. Presumption is thinking that you, your family, or community are exempt from this virus, or thinking your actions have no bearing on anyone but yourself.
We've put together a plan, but we do ask for grace in these unprecedented times. There's still a lot of uncertainty as things are changing so rapidly. That said, the following is what we're planning to do through the rest of March. We're cautiously optimistic we can return to normal by Sunday, April 5.
Communication — Our pastors will be following up with each of you in next two weeks. We'll make a phone call to hear how you’re doing, take stock of your situation, and spend a few moments in prayer. The pastors have divided the church up by groups.
Additionally, we'll be sending out an email each week to do our best to keep everyone in the loop, again, as things are changing so rapidly.
Sunday worship — Each Sunday, we'll post and email a link to our worship “gathering.” It will be our normal order of service with scripture readings, prayer prompts, video prayer, video sermon, and a video song.
We'll also provide a song and video teaching from our grade school and pre-school teams, also linked in the weekly email.
Community groups — We're recommending each group "meet” during the normal group time using Jitsi. Each group will coordinate their exact plan of attack, but we hope for this to facilitate prayer, connectedness, and fruitful discussion on God's word. We'll be teaching the prophet Nahum on Sundays but encourage our groups to work through 1 Peter chapter by chapter beginning this week. This is obviously less than ideal but we'll do our best to make it work. You will be receiving more info from your group leader soon.
Weekly Prayer — Our weekly prayer meeting will continue on Mondays at 8am through Jitsi as well. If you have some newfound flexibility, make it a point to hop on with us. We'll send out this link each week with our weekly email.
Resources — Finally, we'll try to continually resource the body with different practical teaching and encouraging resources. We'll make different blog posts, podcasts, and videos available in the coming days.
So what can you do? Seven exhortations:
Prepare yourself. Prepare your hearts for distance from others. Take some steps to make sure basic needs are met (there's no need to panic and no need to overbuy food in bulk. Our stores will stay stocked and food will be available to us). With so much information, it's hard to know what to do. Let's give deference to those authorities the Lord has placed over us during these times. Let's do our best to stay home per recommendations from the White House, let's embrace social distancing as best we're able, and let's keep ourselves from gatherings of more than 10 people. Remember, there is no reason to panic, but don't be presumptuous. Let's choose peace and prudence.
Refuse to disconnect from the body. Make use of the resources we send out. Be intentional to walk through each part of the service as you would any other worship gathering. It's less than ideal but it's what the Lord has for us right now. Let's also take the initiative with others during this time. Text each other, call each other, make sure you take ownership of caring for others. Though we are physically apart, let us work to overcome any spiritual and emotional distance this time could bring.
Give generously. In times of fear, the first thing to go is generosity. One way to combat anxious feelings is to consider the well-being of others. Look for ways to meet other's needs. If you're prone to panic and self-protect, consider how to make a move towards another in generosity.
Engage your neighbors. Visit your next door neighbor and make sure they're alright. Post on your facebook group or neighborhood app that you're available to help however you might be needed. And talk about Jesus! People are wide open to big questions in times like these.
Re-evaluate your habits. This has, for many of us, become a forced sabbath. Let's take advantage of this and re-think our habits. Let's re-think our use of media. Let's limit our media intake. Let's renew our commitment to healthy eating and exercise. Let's develop a strategy for meal planning. Let's reconsider the pace at which we live. This is a golden opportunity to reset some family rhythms. Let's increase our intentionality at bedtime and family worship. The Lord is forcing us to reset; take advantage of it!
Read your bible & pray. This is an opportunity for us to discern what really exists of our spiritual lives. When the pulpit, stage, physical group meetings, and band are removed, what remains of our life with God? Will it expose a spiritual poverty we were blind to? Maybe this season is a gift in forcing us to take seriously our responsibility to be students of the word and active in prayer. May it be said of us that God used Coronavirus to deepen our love for word & prayer.
Trust the Lord's wisdom in this. None of this has taken Him by surprise. He is the true Lord of the world, the One who set the world on its foundations. "Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea… The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress”(Psalm 46:2,11).
We love you guys, please reach out if you have ANY needs. Thanks for your patience in this time!
Grace & peace,
The Pastors of TCGS