April 30, 2020
Dear Friends:
May is almost here. Who would have thought on March 8, when last we worshipped together, that eight weeks would pass without a service in our sanctuary? We still do not know when we will be allowed, in any form, to gather together. Our Bishop, Elaine Stanovsky shared with us the following:
As bishop of the Greater Northwest Area of The United Methodist Church, I am extending the suspension of in-person worship in United Methodist Churches through May 30, 2020, unless state government and health officials lift restrictions.
What this means for us at Trinity is that it does not look like we will be able to have worship in our sanctuary this month. We are hoping that as the governor loosens restrictions some activities might resume, in a limited capacity. With that in mind, I had an ad hoc Ad Council meet to draft some initial policies. We believe that we will first be allowed to have groups of 10 or less. If so, this is what we have decided:
- Only church-related groups may meet: committees, Bible studies, etc.
- No outside groups
- Kitchen closed
Procedure: Use hand sanitizer when coming in. Sanitize all surfaces after the meeting with supplies provided.
We will let you know when we can invite you into the church building in this way. If you have questions about all of this, you can contact me or Margaret Cox, our Ad Council chair.
Recently I learned that some of you are having difficulties accessing our Sunday worship videos. Each week we create a worship service for you to enjoy. They are available to watch any time after we put them on the website. You do not need to watch them at 10:00 on Sunday morning. We usually have them ready by Saturday. To watch, just go to our website: Sequimtumc.org. The current service will be there on the front page. To watch previous services just click on the link to our YouTube page or click on this link: https://www.sequimtumc.org/sermons/ . Let me know if you have questions
Since this Sunday is the first one of the month, I invite you to join me at 7 pm Sunday, May 3, for another Facebook live vesper service. Have a piece of bread and a bit of juice or wine available and we will celebrate communion together.
Here are some prayer concerns.
- Those who are needing to be at work and dealing with the public: first responders, health care workers, grocery store employees, and more.
- For all those who are ill from the virus and for those families who have lost loved ones to the virus.
- For our new pastor Brad Beeman and his wife Dorothy at this time of transition
Even though you can’t be with those having birthdays this week, sending emails or making phone calls are appreciated
Always feel free to contact me by email or at home. I care about you and am glad to hear from you.
Hope you have had a great week.
Pastor Bill