July 12 Announcements

We have a few announcements for you this week at Hutch E Free.

1. Sunday Service: We will continue to have in-person service available on Sunday morning at 10 AM.  If you would like to attend, please review the Guidelines and Health Survey prior to attending

2. Online Media: We will continue to livestream our service on our Facebook page at 10 AM.  In addition, we will post audio to the church website following the service for those who do not have access to Facebook.

3. Opportunities to Serve:  We have a few opportunities to serve the church family in the coming weeks, starting July 16.

- CM Ministry Area Demo: We need people to help with demolition for our Children's Ministry renovation.  This was a key aspect to keep the costs of the project down.  Matt Maiers will lead a team Friday, July 17 from Noon-5 PM.  Email info@hutchefree.org if you are interested in helping.

- Help the Roaches Move: The Roach family has moved most of their belongings to Edina, but they still have some items in their garage they need help with moving.  If you have a vehicle and some time, they are looking for help on Saturday, July 18th.  If you would like to help, contact Dan and Patty or email info@hutchefree.org.

4. Sunday Funday: We will host an outdoor and informal worship service on Sunday, July 19th.  We will have a bonfire, some songs to sing, and an opportunity to share testimonies of what God has been doing in our lives.  We will provide some hot dogs to eat, but feel free to bring your own chairs to sit on.  We look forward to another opportunity to connect behind the worship center starting at 4 PM.

5. Small Groups: We are still looking to offer small groups for people who are not yet connected to one.  We may have a group starting soon in the south Hutchinson area.  If you would be interested in joining or hosting a small group, please let us know.

As always, let us know if you have any prayer requests.  For those of you who would like more information about giving online or by mail, you can visit the giving page of our website.

Announcements on June 4th

1. New Guidelines for the Worship Center: We are continuing to work toward reopening the Worship Center for in-person Sunday services.  Please watch for additional communication about which Sunday will be our first opportunity to worship together in-person.  In the meantime, please review the new Guidelines and Health Survey for Sunday services.  If you plan to attend the in-person version of our service, please let us know how many will be attending by emailing info@hutchefree.org.

2. Online Sunday Messages: We will continue to post media to the church website as soon as we can.  We will be recording the services live, and will post the audio or video once it is ready.  We will continue to stream our service live on our Facebook page Sundays at 10 AM.

3. Supporting Youth for Christ:  Isaac, one of our church members, will be selling peaches once again to support one of our partner ministries, Youth for Christ.  He is looking for people who would like to preorder peaches or to help with the distribution and sales of peaches to the community.  If you are tired of being at home, this could be a great opportunity to share some fellowship with Isaac and some of the students he serves.  Contact Isaac at isaac@yfcminnesota.com or 423-351-4682 for more information.

4. Opportunities for Distribution: In the coming weeks, we will have opportunities to connect with the people of our church by distributing supplies to them.  We have an updated Church directory ready to go (thanks, Jessica!), and we will also have an opportunity to distribute the supplies for communion to people who plan to continue to worship from home on Sundays.  If you would like to be a part of the distribution team and serve the people of our church in this way, please email us at info@hutchefree.org.

5. Opportunities for Connection: We know that one of the most difficult things about the past few months has been the decrease in personal time with others.  Therefore, we would like to open up more opportunities for small groups and fellowship groups.  If you would be interested in joining or hosting a small group, please let us know at info@hutchefree.org.  We already have interest for a group to meet on the south side of Hutch, if possible!

As always, let us know if you have any prayer requests.  For those of you who would like more information about giving online or by mail, you can visit the giving page of our website.

HEFC Guidelines for Worship

We are excited to be able to meet together as a church body to worship our Lord and Savior! However, meeting together will not look exactly like what we have done in the past. There will be some rules and procedures in place to make sure that we keep everyone in our congregation safe and to ensure that we adhere to the guidelines we have been given so we can continue to gather together in worship. We as elders and deacons have been and are praying for the Lord’s wisdom and guidance through this, and some of these policies may need to change and be updated as our guidelines change.  We will keep you informed of any changes.

·        Our Worship Center can host 50 people for Sunday services. If you are interested in attending worship services in person, please let us know ahead of time by emailing info@hutchefree.org.  Livestream will also be available.

·        If anyone in your household has been knowingly exposed to someone with COVID 19 please observe your 14 day self-quarantine and join us online from home.

·        If you are at higher risk for developing severe illness for any reason we would encourage you also to worship from home. We will continue to live stream our worship service and encourage those unable to attend to participate online.

·        Please review Health Screening Checklist at the bottom of these guidelines prior to coming to church.   If you answer “yes” to any of the 8 questions on the Checklist, we encourage you and your household to worship from home that week.

  

For those that are able to attend, we will have some safety procedures in place. There will be ushers or dedicated people to direct you to your seat once you arrive at church. There will be a hand sanitizing station inside of the door for everyone to use as they come in.

·        Please observe social distancing with people from other households. Our church is a very social and loving group, but for now please forgo any handshakes and hugs that usually occur.  6 feet is the current distance, so if you can touch them, you’re too close!

·        Masks will be strongly encouraged to enter the Worship Center.  Please bring your own mask, but we plan to have some available for those who do not have one.  We understand that younger children will not tolerate masks, and children under 2 should not wear masks.

·        Households are encouraged to stay together, and to support this, we will not have children’s ministry available at this time.

·        In light of the practice of social distancing and the guidelines against serving food and beverages, we will not observe a fellowship break in the middle of service.

·        Communion will be available, but we will not be able to pass out the elements as we have in the past.  Instead, individual communion cups will be available as you enter the Worship Center.

When the service is over, ushers will direct you on which door to exit from. The goal is to not bunch up! There will not be any social time inside the Worship Center after the service. If the weather is nice and you choose to socialize outside, please continue to practice of social distancing.

Please don’t look at these rules as a list of don’ts. Rather, please look at it as an opportunity to be together, worship our Lord and uplift each other!

At this time Sunday service may not be the most suitable place for fellowship and connection.  Therefore, we would encourage you to be a part of a small group or fellowship group.  If you would like to host or join a small group or fellowship group, email the church at info@hutchefree.org.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as we trust in him, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Health Survey

Risk Factors for COVID-19 (from CDC)

People Who Are at Higher Risk for Severe Illness

COVID-19 is a new disease and there is limited information regarding risk factors for severe disease. Based on currently available information and clinical expertise, older adults and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions might be at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

Based on what we know now, those at high-risk for severe illness from COVID-19 are:

·        People 65 years and older

·        People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility

People of all ages with underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled, including:

·        People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma

·        People who have serious heart conditions

·        People who are immunocompromised

o   Many conditions can cause a person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications

        People with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher)

·        People with diabetes

·        People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis

·        People with liver disease

May 31 Announcements

1. Sunday Services Online: We are working toward the goal of being able to host in-person Sunday services, but we are not there, yet.  In the meantime, we will continue online services.  Audio can be found on the website after service on Sunday.  Video will be available on our Facebook page, as well.

2. Small Groups: If you are looking for ways for more connection and fellowship, small groups are forming to worship together and have fellowship with one another.  If you would like to host or join a small group, let us know at info@hutchefree.org.

3. Serving Minneapolis:  There will be many needs that come out of Minneapolis in the coming weeks.  I have reached out to our district office to see if there is anything we can do to help, but if you would like to organize a way to help and support the people of the city, please let us know at info@hutchefree.org.

Pray in May

This week, we learned about our need for help, and how we should go to Jesus with whatever we need. However, it may still seem difficult to find the right words or methods or ideas to pray about.

One of our sister churches in the EFCA has put together a list of topics to pray for throughout the month of May. I have adapted it so that it begins with today, May 5. If you would like to join us in prayer this month, please click one of the buttons below to find the prayer list from Park Community Church.

March 27 Announcements

In this season of social distancing, I want to be sure you all are aware of the ways our church is staying connected.  I will continue to send out emails with information that may be helpful to you.

This week, our governor issued a Stay at Home order for Minnesotans.  The order runs from today, March 27th, until Friday, April 10, which is also Good Friday.  At this time, our church plans to continue to follow the guidelines of our government, which means that our primary means of connection will continue to be sermon audio on the website, interacting on our Facebook group, and phone calls with one another. We will not have in-person gatherings or Sunday services until at least April 10th.

When it comes to Easter Sunday (or Resurrection Sunday, if you prefer), please be in prayer for that day.  We don't know what that day will look like yet, but we will continue to seek wisdom and creative ideas for how we could worship our Lord together on that morning.  

Finally, I would like to provide an update about the spiritual act of giving in this season.  Part of our worship on Sundays is singing together, part of it is a message, but part of it is that we give back to God from what he has given us.  In these uncertain times, I want to give you all an opportunity to continue to give as you regularly would (or begin to give as God leads).  At this time, we have two ways you can give.

1. First, you can give online.  Last week, we had a few people give online for the first time.  This is an easy option that will allow you to set up a one time or recurring gift to the church.  If you would like to do that, check out our Online Giving page on the website.

2. In addition, you can give through the mail.  Feel free to send your gift to the church at:

1020 Highway 7 W, Suite D, Hutchinson, MN 55350

We do have a locking mailbox, and I can continue to check the mail at the church during this time.

We are also aware that this season may have some of you in a financial pinch.  As a church, we have already begun to provide resources to those who need it in this season from our benevolence fund.  If you have a need, whether physical, financial, or spiritual, please let us know.  We have plenty of people who love to care for each other!  Remember, we're in this together!

February 23rd Announcements

Congregational Meeting Results and Information

We hosted our annual congregational meeting, complete with our Annual Report. If you would like a copy, stop by the mailbox in the Worship Center or talk to Pastor Mike.

We also passed a vote to move forward with a renovation project for our Ministry Center, including an expansion of our current Children’s areas. We would like to raise fund through giving first. If you would like to give toward the building project, please add designation to the Building Fund or use our online giving platform on the website.

Craft and Create Weekend

This Friday and Saturday, we will host our Craft and Create weekend. Here is more information from Carrie S.

Craft & Create Weekend

Friday February 28th 6:00pm – 10:00 pm and

Saturday, February 29th 9:00am – 5:00pm

 

@ HEFC Worship Center   1020 Hwy 7 W, Hutchinson

 

PLEASE BRING:

A beverage for yourself, a snack to share,

Money for Saturday lunch,

Project(s) to work on, and supplies.

 

Come when you can and leave when you must.

Feel free to invite a friend!