Church, Coronavirus and You! Part 4, I think

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ as we continue to move these uncertain times.  In Luke 10, Jesus tells his disciples to say, "Peace to this house." when they enter someone's home when they are out on their mission activities.  Since we are limited on what we can do in regard to visits, we send you a holy, "Peace to your house!" while you are spending so much time inside.

Here are church updates that you need to know about:

No In-Person Worship in April.  The Worship Committee met last week and based upon the conditions we are still under, there will be no in-person worship in the sanctuary during the month of April.  We will continue to work in ways to connect and worship through online options and mail.  What does this mean for Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter?  Here is what we have planned so far:

Palm Sunday, April 5.  Besides a recorded service, we will place palms by each entrance of the church on Palm Sunday, and you are invited to come by and pick one up at your convenience that day.  We would then like you to take a picture of yourself and your family with your palm and send it to us by Wednesday, April 8th. We will put together a video of the photos and send it out to everyone as a virtual palm procession.  If you are unable to come to the church, we can deliver your palm and take your picture (with proper social distancing, of course)!  Either send us an email or give us a call to line that up.  Our cell is 541-786-8281.

Good Friday, April 10.  The pastors of the Rector Set are planning a pre-recorded service.  Stay tuned for details!

Easter, April 12.  By 9:00 am on Easter Morning, we will place the Christmas Tree cross outside in the yard of the church by the main sanctuary doors at the corner of 6th and Washington. You are invited to bring a flower down anytime during the day and place it on the cross to make it "bloom." Please keep appropriate distance from other cross-decorators. :) Please decorate the cross by 5:00 pm. We will send out a picture of the Blooming Cross after that. 

       We will also be recording some sort of Easter devotion for you to use at home. If we come up with other things we to celebrate the day, we will let you know.  No matter what, when we are able to gather again in-person as a congregation, we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ!  

Office:  The office will remain closed during the month of April.  Donna will be in to check mail and we will continue to monitor the phones and emails.  Ellen will also be in to do finances, to please remember your giving to the church during this time.

Assistance:  A wonderful group of folks have volunteered to run errands for people.  If you need someone to pickup some groceries for you, send us an email or give us a call and we will get one of these good folks out getting things for you.

Small Group Learning Opportunity: Pastor Laura is going to facilitate a small group experience on Zoom using the book Re-Creating a Life: Learning How to Tell Our Most Life-Giving Story  by Diane M. Millis.  (click on the link to learn more about the book). I envision gathering groups of four participants to work with prompts in this book to share our life stories. If you are interested in being part of a small group, email us at pastorshudson@eoni.com or call/text to 541-786-8281. If you decide to participate, there are Christian Ed. funds available to reimburse your purchase of this book. 

We love you and miss you all very much. You are daily in our prayers, that you would be well and be filled with the peace of Christ which surpasses understanding in this unprecedented time on earth. Keith and Laura