Dear friends,
As we are all aware, our nation and world are facing the impact of the outbreak of COVID-19, also known as the Corona virus. We have been closely monitoring the situation including recommendations from our UCC leadership, the CDC, and medical professionals within our local community. The critical thing for our communities to do is to slow the rate of the epidemic so medical facilities are not overwhelmed. The most effective way to slow the spread of the virus is social distancing, or in other words, minimizing contact with others. At this time, The Gift Team Board and leadership of the United Church of Christ of Hummelstown has suspended all worship and church based gatherings effective immediately through March 29th. We are in the process of setting up plans for continuing to celebrate Sunday worship online, with materials available in our regular weekly email. This suspension of activities includes Sunday worship, Faith Formation, Bible Study and Choir Rehearsals. Plans are coming in for worship gathering online, and will be communicated this Thursday by our regular weekly email. I will be setting up an online meeting for Bible Study this week, where you can call in from your phone at home, or use the video chat feature to join in as well. Pastor Beth and Mary Lou will continue to work from the office, but are limiting public contact to minimum, and working as individually as possible. At this time, we both feel confident in this action, however, if this shifts, we will move to working at home. If you need to get a hold of anyone, or aren’t sure if anyone is in the office, please feel free to contact Pastor Beth on her cell phone at any time. Text, video chat and phone calls are all welcome. What is being cancelled or postponed?
How long will this last? We are currently planning a two week cancelation time and then will make another assessment as to the timing of a return to in person gatherings. We will continue to follow CDC and medical recommendations in the coming weeks.How can we continue to engage with the church when we aren’t meeting in person? The number one thing to think about is to stay connected, but to find new ways to do it! Pray for those affected by illness and for who this time of intentional isolation is hardest, as well as those who are still working in “essential” industries who are continuing to be exposed to large numbers of the public and are therefore at risk.
-->Information on how to set it up: Click here. -->Give is now located under Worship In this time of fear, share the heart of who we are with the world, that the God we worship, and the life we celebrate is centered on love. God is present with us even when we are lonely. So I invite you to find the ways that will calm your own anxieties, and find your center there. We must resist the urge to contributeto the xenophobia that has been sparked by the fear of this virus, and the anger of isolation. Speak up when you can to share a vision of unity with those who would sow divisiveness. If you need a way to center yourself, you can even do it while contributing to health, by washing your hands with prayer on your mind. As we wash our hands, pick a favorite hymn, doxology, prayer, or scripture to sing or say (once or twice). Let’s join in a spiritual practice to relieve some anxiety. The verse that pops up for me right now is, “I look to the hills, from where does my help come, it comes from God.” May you feel the presence and peace of love as we move into uncertainty and walk with one another in grace. Blessings, Pastor Beth Rogers For more information about the Coronavirus and how to keep safe visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
HUCC InfoWe want to keep you informed about what HUCC is doing to address the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and how we are adjusting to the new restrictions. Archives
July 2021
Categories |
||
RSS Feed