In our epistle reading this week, we will hear Paul's exhortation that we are to present ourselves to God as living sacrifices. To put a slightly different spin on this familiar passage, Paul is saying that those who have received the mercy of God can now present themselves to God as living, holy, and pleasing sacrifices. Such sacrifices, those that are living, holy, and pleasing, constitute "true and proper worship" (Romans 12:1, NIV).
The question of "true and proper worship" has weighed heavily on Jay and I during these past months. Because we have not been able to meet in person, we have wrestled with what it means to be the church when we cannot gather together around Word and Table. While Paul's words do not negate the central place of weekly worship, they are an important reminder that worship is certainly more expansive than our weekly meeting. How we live our lives as a community, how we present ourselves to God, and how we use our various gifts to build each other up are also at the heart of true and proper worship. Let that be an encouragement and a challenge to each of us, even as we begin to slowly regather.
As a quick reminder, we are meeting again on Sunday evenings by registration only. At this point the service is limited to 50 people, so if you would like to come, please register HERE.
If you aren't able to come or are not yet comfortable coming, we understand. You can still join us online for our live stream. We post the link on our website every Sunday right at 5pm.
If you can't catch the live stream, each week's service is available on our YouTube channel. And we still post the sermons on our podcast.
Please also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and/or Twitter.
The live-stream and bulletin will be available via THIS LINK on Sunday afternoon at 5pm.
No Party But Still a Feast
This Sunday we’ll be celebrating St. Bartholomew’s Feast Day with our 5 pm live-stream, limited capacity in-person service with drive thru communion distribution immediately following. Register HERE to attend in person.
We have marked St. Bart’s Day with a big party the last two years. It gives us an opportunity to invite friends, enjoy fellowship, food, and good music, and simply give thanks to God for our life as a church. This year, though, will be much different, and so we grieve that loss and change. But not having a party does not detract from this feast when we will give thanks to God for His holy apostle Bartholomew.
The apostles served as the rock and foundation of the Church on which Christ would build His kingdom, Himself being the cornerstone (Eph 2:20). They were imperfect men who yet obeyed Christ and followed Him closely, even unto death. They were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and they boldly proclaimed the Gospel to both Jew and Gentile in their respective missions. So this Sunday as we celebrate St. Bartholomew, we remember his love for Christ and ask God to help us “love what he believed and preach what he taught” (Collect for St. Bartholomew’s Day).
The live-stream and bulletin will be available via THIS LINK on Sunday afternoon at 5pm.
This Sunday’s Live Stream and Bulletin
We wanted to send you the link to our YouTube page where the live stream will be once we begin it Sunday at 5pm, as well as a link to the bulletin in advance. So here they are!
LIVE STREAM
BULLETIN
See you soon!
Jay+
Another Live-Stream with a Twist!
And the twist is we’re having a very small crowd to test out what doing Church in the era of COVID will be like. If you’d like to attend this in-person service, please follow THIS LINK to register online.
The live-stream and bulletin will be available via THIS LINK on Sunday afternoon at 5pm.
As we have the past two weeks, we will be having drive-through communion distribution after the service for those who aren’t able to come but participate online.
One way or the other, I’ll see you soon!
Once Again, Getting into the Rhythm
We will be live-streaming again this Sunday at 5 pm with a drive-thru communion distribution immediately following the service. We’re working out the technical kinks - thank you for your helpful feedback - and imagining the logistics indoors as we move towards some sort of in-person service in the future.
Don’t forget the Benevolence and Covid Relief Fund. If you have a financial need due to the pandemic, please CLICK HERE to apply for relief help.
See you soon!
Jay+
Great Sunday, Ready for the Next??
If so, read on for more details. I told you this would be exciting, interesting, and would require flexibility. This Sunday, we’ll be live-streaming from the church at 5 pm. Please worship with us online. Then, immediately following the shortened, online service, we will have a drive-through communion distribution. Please only come to receive the Sacrament if you’ve worshiped with us online at 5 pm.
A map of the communion drive through flow is included at the bottom of this Newsletter with this week's scriptures.
I am VERY excited to see your faces, bless your children - from a safe distance - and give you the Body of Christ. See you soon!
Announcement for this Weekend
We're very excited about our outdoor service this Sunday morning at 9 am. Please remember that if you did not register for this limited-crowd-size gathering, you will not be allowed to attend. But don't lose heart, we will have more worship services soon. And, this Sunday's service - and all future services - will be live streamed and archived.
See you Sunday in person or online!!!
Jay+
Outdoor Regathering Details!
We will be regathering for outdoor worship on the back lawn of Central Lutheran. Please register to join us for a brief Eucharistic service (around 45 minutes). We will be limiting this service to the first 30 people who register, so please register ASAP if you would like to come.
Please plan on social distancing, and please bring your own face mask. For those without masks, they will be provided, and will have other PPE as well, including gloves, hand sanitizer, and bug repellant. Also, please plan to bring a blanket or your own lawn chairs.
There will be NO access to bathrooms. Children will need to sit and stay with their families, and we will have activity bags for kids.
We are still working towards regathering indoors, but while we work out all those details, we want these outdoor services to be a stepping stone toward fully regathering. For those who are not yet ready to regather, even outdoors, we will still be sharing our services online.
Chris+