Good Afternoon, Church!
I write to you today to address what our church community will look like as we move toward the end of 2020. As you know, our mission is to Love God. Love People. Help People Love God. However, over the past week, it has become apparent that the methods in which we do these things will need to look different, given the state of the coronavirus in our community. As the elders met last night, we discussed how we have seen some people contract the virus, others have been exposed to it, and still others face isolation and quarantine from the contacts that they have. We realized that most of us could not commit to attending Sunday services, and we have noticed other volunteers who have needed to reschedule due to exposure to the virus, too.
Therefore, we have decided to suspend our in-person version of Sunday services, likely through at least the end of the year.
While the loss of Sunday services is difficult, we would like to emphasize our commitment to connecting with the people of our church even as we will not be meeting on Sunday mornings. Here is the approach that we are implementing during this season:
1. The Importance of Connection: One of the most important things that we can do in this season is continue to find ways to connect. The elders and I are committed to making a concerted effort to call and connect with the people of our church. However, we would also like to encourage you to stay connected with each other, too. This year, we released a new church directory with updated contact information. If you need one, please let us know, and we will find a way to get you one safely. In addition, the directory lists the deacons and the elders, who are committed to serving the needs of the people of our church. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you need someone to talk to.
2. The Importance of Prayer: As we continue through this season, we urge you to continue to pray. We would also like to pray for you. The best ways to get prayer are through phone calls, through the prayer chain (email prayer.hefc@gmail,com), or through sharing prayer requests on our Facebook Live services on Sunday morning. It has been amazing to see God work through prayer, even when we are not in the same room.
3. An Advent Devotional: Over the next month, my priority will be to make myself available to people for phone calls and opportunities to connect. Therefore, the elder board thought it might be beneficial to use an advent devotional to help orient our hearts toward Jesus in this season. The current plan is to choose an advent devotional that we can go through together as a church through the month of December. Hopefully, this devotional can be an encouraging part of our phone conversations, and I plan to share brief thoughts from the Advent themes with the church as part of our Facebook Live services on Sunday mornings. If you would like the church to procure a copy of the book for your household, please let us know by emailing info@hutchefree.org. Then we will coordinate how to get you a copy as quickly and safely as possible.
2020 continues to be a unique and difficult year, but we can continue to worship our Good God! We hope that we can find ways to continue to connect and encourage each other in the midst of these challenges. If you have any questions, please contact me or a member of the elder board.
In Christ,
Pastor Mike