15 May 2020

Pastoral Letter - Resuming Public Worship

PASTORAL LETTER
RESUMING PUBLIC WORSHIP
Thursday of Easter 5
May 14, 2020

Dear saints in Christ at Hope,

“LET US GO TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD!” (Psalm 122:1)

With great joy I can now announce that we at Hope will resume public, in-person worship! We thank our gracious Lord and Savior Jesus for His faithfulness to us in this time of lockdown and separation that we have been enduring. We also praise Him for now bringing us to this opportunity to gather again, even with some restrictions still in place. We are privileged to gather together to hear the Word of our Lord Jesus and receive the Sacrament of His Body and Blood.

At its May 11 meeting, the Board of Elders, with congregational president David Linton and Kantor Matt Janssen, planned for resuming congregational worship with proper health and safety measures in place. We will hold a single public Divine Service on Thursday, May 21, at 7:00 p.m. – The Ascension of Our Lord.

Beginning Sunday May 24, we will temporarily hold two Sunday morning Divine Service times – 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. – so that we may practice proper hygienic and social distancing measures. We plan this schedule to run four Sundays—May 24, May 31, June 7, and June 14. This plan is subject to revision based on a) our attendance patterns and/or b) any future local COVID-related developments. We will return to our regular one Sunday Divine Service time of 9:00 a.m. as soon as circumstances allow.

Also, for those who must or who choose to stay at home, we will continue to live stream our services on Facebook as we have the past two months. On Sunday mornings, only the 9:00 a.m. service will live-streamed. The May 21 Ascension Day service will also be live streamed. With Kantor Janssen’s leadership, we are acquiring our own equipment to enhance and continue our live stream capabilities.


“KINDNESS, HUMILITY, MEEKNESS, AND PATIENCE” (Colossians 3:12)

This time of pandemic, social distancing, and staying at home has been unsettling and stressful for all of us. Many things have changed and we all have many questions, concerns, feelings and opinions. We have been juggling and balancing three of our Lord’s commandments. With the Third Commandment, we have been hearing God’s Word the best we can in these unsettling circumstances. With the Fourth Commandment, we have been honoring God’s appointed governing leaders by staying home and keeping social distance. And with the Fifth Commandment, we have been striving to care for and protect our neighbors, especially those most affected by the Coronavirus.

As we begin to resume our public, in-person worship services, we all need to practice the “kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12) that St. Paul mentions. Some will be comfortable gathering with others, while some will be reluctant to leave home. Some may consider our hygienic and social distancing measures to be over the top, while some may consider them to be insufficient. We all are traveling an uncharted course and doing the very best we can, and our various responses and feelings are understandable.

We do not want anyone to feel uncomfortable, left out, or judged, either for attending or for staying home. We certainly do not want anyone to “play the hero” and attend the Divine Service out of a sense of duty or compulsion. If you are uncomfortable gathering at church, we understand. Also, if you are in the high-risk category for COVID-19 (older adults, immune-compromised, etc.), please stay home with a clear conscience. At this time, there are no “black marks” for staying home, just as there are no “black marks” for gathering together. At this time our Lord calls each of us to bear with one another in love as we exercise all humility, gentleness and patience toward each other (Ephesians 4:2).


HYGIENIC AND SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES

As we begin to resume Sunday worship, we will implement the following protocols to ensure health and safety:
  • If you are sick or symptomatic, please stay home and seek medical attention as needed.
  • When parking your vehicle, we encourage you to leave one empty parking space between your car and your neighbor’s car.
  • The elevator entrance (northwest corner of building) will be the only open entry point for coming into and exiting the church. Sufficient time between Sunday services will allow for the first group of worshipers to depart before the second group arrives.
  • Wearing facemasks is encouraged, especially when coming into the church and when leaving. We encourage you to bring your own mask, but we will also have a supply on hand if needed.
  • Hand sanitizer bottles will be available as you enter the church. Please sanitize your hands when arriving and again when departing.
  • Every other pew will be closed and marked with a sign at each open end in order to maintain six (6) feet of separation. Families may sit together in the same pew. Smaller groups (e.g. couples and individuals) may sit in a single pew with proper distance between them (e.g. at opposite ends of the pew).
  • Pews will be wiped down and cleaned before and between services.
  • Please pick up your own service folder when you enter the sanctuary; they will not be handed out.
  • Hymnals will be removed from the pew racks and we will use printed orders of service. Please take your service folder home and dispose of it yourself.
  • Offering baskets will be placed on stands near the baptismal font. Please place your offering in them as you arrive or as you depart.
  • The pastor and assisting minister(s) will wash hands prior to the Service of the Sacrament.
  • The host (bread) will be placed into hands, not directly into the mouth.
  • The chalice will be available for those who desire it and will be cleansed with purificators soaked in Everclear (90% alcohol) after each communicant.
  • Extra individual cups will be available for those who want them and will be spaced apart in the trays. The individual cup trays will be placed on a table.
  • We will not use the Communion rail, but will practice “walk-through,” or continuous flow, Communion.
  • We will commune one side of the sanctuary at a time and then switch to the other side. (Example: first the pulpit side, then the lectern side.)
  • You will be asked to usher yourselves up to Communion one pew at a time in order to maintain social distancing. Please maintain six (6) feet of separation between family groups, couples, and individuals while waiting to commune.
  • Following the service, please do not remain inside. You may socialize and converse outside while maintaining social distancing.
At this time we are opening up only for Sunday morning Divine Services. All other gathering events—Sunday School, Bible Class, coffee hour, meetings, etc.—will remain suspended until further notice.

For those who cannot attend or choose not to attend on Sunday mornings, you may still make appointments with me to receive Communion. Please contact me by phone or email to schedule a Communion appointment.

These are certainly trying times. In the midst of things we suffer and do not understand, our Lord Jesus shares our suffering, sustains us through it, and promises His very deliverance. Allow me to leave you with this devotional thought for this Thursday of Easter 5, based on the text of Luke 12:54-13:17.
[The incarnate Son of God] pronounces suffering blessed through His own suffering. Rather than fleeing from, or blaming, those who are weak and suffering, He comes close to them, lays His hands on them, and declares them free of their illness. How could He do otherwise? When He meets suffering flesh, it is not another’s flesh that He sees, but His own, which He has assumed through the incarnation of Mary. He bore our flesh so that He might rescue it from the sin-diseased crookedness caused by the burden of death. He is not untouched by our suffering and fleshly weakness. It is our flesh, not some other, that He assumes. We are never alone under the back-breaking burdens that the fall has heaped upon us. Because He has taken our flesh, we can look forward to a flesh renewed and healed, of which He has given us a sign in this text (Luke 13:12). (Scott R. Murray, A Year with the Church Fathers: Meditations for Each Day of the Church Year, CPH, 2011, p. 149)

In Christ’s service,

Rev. Randy K. Asburry
Pastor

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