Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Dear Church Family,

 “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

While this may sound difficult, I have found in these challenging days that Philippians 4:4-7 is absolutely true, and it has proven to be a source of great encouragement to me in the last weeks. I trust it is to you as well!

I was hoping this week to update you that we would be returning to a typical schedule. Unfortunately,  for those of you who are keeping an eye on things, you know the situation has only grown worse. Last night Governor Wolf put our county under a mandatory stay-at-home order. As a result, after prayer and consultation with the deacons, we feel it is the wise decision not to hold public services. Please understand this is not an easy decision, or a decision that we are taking lightly. This is a decision that must be made to do our duty to keep our people safe.

While this may not be what we would desire, our God’s timing is always perfect, and in this time apart we must continue to look to Him!

We are working to get our church set up for virtual services. This has been an ambitious and very challenging project for our church to navigate. I assure you that we are doing all we can at this point to make either pre-recorded services or live-stream services possible.

I wanted to say thank you to those who have been checking in on one another, those who have been checking on our family, and those who have been encouraging me as I learn to teach in front of a camera. I also want to thank those of you who have been faithful in giving offerings, even while we cannot gather together as church.

As I close, I want you to know it is one of the greatest joys of my life to be your pastor. Our family loves you and we are praying for you! Please let us know if you need anything ‒ we are here to minister to you!

Gratefully yours,

Pastor Joel