These past few weeks, the Covid19 pandemic is what most of us are talking about. It has changed the way we go about our daily lives. We are in unprecedented times and this has caused a fair amount of anxiety throughout our community. We want to thank you for participating with the community in doing our part to reduce the spread of the virus by social distancing, and we encourage you to continue to be vigilant in protecting our most vulnerable.
Covid19 has also changed the way we do church together and Staff and Council of Mission Hills Community Church continue to monitor and consider all the information that is coming out. This past week we met as Elders, and full Council met virtually to share and set some plans in place for the next couple weeks. Here is a summary of some things for you:
Services:
- We have all heard the news and the call to practice social distancing so we will continue to suspend all ministry gatherings.
- Our staff is working hard to continue to serve you and provide a weekly opportunity to worship, hear God’s word and participate in a virtual community following the service. We are also working on adding a children’s component to our morning services so stay tuned as we develop and resource that.
- Services will continue to be Sunday Mornings starting at 10:30 am. We will post information links on the website and post the videos on our public Facebook site.
Communication:
- We are working to improve our communication during this time. Typically, information can be found on Facebook or email, and while we will continue to use those medias, we are working hard to improve the information on our website --- and would like to direct everyone there for the most updated information.
- Pastor Grant is already blessing us with a weekly Facebook update and we hope to add to that with some Elder updates and encouragement during this time.
- Our Elders have begun to connect with all our members via phone calls to stay informed as to the needs of our congregation and its members. If you have not received a call by April 3, please let us know.
Giving:
Just a reminder that we continue to function normally even though we are not meeting regularly for worship. We still have many financial obligations that need to be met and encourage our members to continue with their giving. Our website has several options for giving online or e-transfer. If your giving needs to be done with CASH we can arrange ways for that to happen; please email the church at missionhillscrc@gmail.com.
We are going to attempt to host a virtual community following our Sunday morning services. If you are interested in joining please download the ZOOM app and look for a meeting code posted on Facebook following the Sunday service. We will be posting information on our website about the Zoom App and some considerations and tips for those who would like to join us on Sundays.
In closing, I am reminded of this blessing from Paul’s letter to the Philippians:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7)
May the peace of God dwell richly in your homes and neighborhoods in these next weeks.
See you online!
On Behalf of the Council of Mission Hills