HEFC Missions 2021

We'd love to have HEFC partner with us in the following ways:

1. Lift both teams up in PRAYER - STARTING NOW - that God would direct the right individuals to join either team, that the funds would come in the enable each participant to join and that we'd have money for construction costs, groceries, etc., for the partner churches to be prepared for us to join them, that God would be preparing the hearts of those that we will minister too - to be able to receive the gospel, for the health of all involved, etc.

2. JOIN A TEAM! If you are interested and want more information, contact Ann Broscoff.

3. Support the teams financially - through direct donation (be sure to designate gifts given to HEFC as for missions), or by participating in fundraisers. One fundraiser that is starting TODAY (11/22) and will go through 12/7, is a 31 fundraiser. 20% of all sales through this party will be donated to HEFC Missions, so if you want to get some Christmas shopping done, go to (I'll send you the link soon pastor). We will have other fundraisers as well, likely to include Pizza Ranch and Unhinged Pizza community nights, Goat Cheese and beauty product sales, Goat Yoga events, and more. Keep your eyes and ears open for announcements, participate in the events, and share them with your family and friends.

The Appalachia trip is going to be June 20-26. We will be driving 1 or 2 15-passenger vans down there (depending upon the final group size). We currently have 10 group members committed, and we'd love to see that grow to 15+. The overall cost is going to be around $725/person (depending upon gas costs). Our ministry there will focus on trying to help with some light construction and supporting our partner church there in their ministry - likely with some children's ministry opportunities, meeting some of the physical needs of families there by distributing Blessing Bags (filled with practical needs such as food items we purchase there, as well as any other items that the HEFC church family may wish to send with us), and other ministry opportunities.

The Puerto Rico trip is going to be on/about July 18-24 (exact start and end dates may change, depending upon flight costs). We currently have 10 individuals that will be going, and we'd like to see that number climb to 15+ as well. The cost will be around $975/person + flight (we are hoping this will be around $350 each). Our ministry focus there will be light construction (hurricane and earthquake recovery) and working with a partner church in the mountain areas near San Juan in their children's ministry, possibly some sports ministry, distributing Blessing Bags (as for Appalachia), and more.

Important Announcement November 18, 2020

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

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