NOTES FROM THE PASTOR
I have some tenatatively good news. The Elders have been considering the possibility of an in-person Easter service. At this point, we are planning on an in-person service; however, the final determination will not be made until the Elders’ meeting on March 28th. If the trends in declining positivity rate of tests and increasing number of those receiving vaccines, we may be able to proceed with an in-person service.
For Easter, we will offer two options for worship. There will be a video available for you to view at home on Easter morning. It will be very similar to the in-erson service that will be offered at 10:45 AM on Easter Sunday morning.
This in-person Easter service will be a special offering. It will allow us to practice being together and following protocols to ensure our safety when gathering. We will not yet regularly meet for in-person worship services. This service will give us the opportunity to wait a few weeks after the service to ensure the virus was not spread during our Easter gathering. We can also evaluate what safety procedures worked and what may need to be added. Easter is a trial-run to make sure we did it right.
We are not yet ready to livestream in-person services with our new equipment. Those equipment upgrades are in the works. Waiting until we have those upgrades done is part of the consideration about when to return to a regular schedule of in-person worship services. It is a lot of work to do a video and an in-person service on a weekend; this will be a special offering for Easter. It would not be sustainable on-going. We want to ensure that as we move forward we are able to offer quality options for those who choose to continue to worhsip at home and those who choose to come to service in the sanctuary.
The precautions required will be:
- Wearing a mask that properly covers your nose and mouth. The CDC has not yet done enough testing to affirm the effectiveness of plastic face shields. Gaiter neck wraps have been found to spread disease rather than to prevent the spread. If you do not have a mask, one will be provided for you when you arrive at church.
- Practicing social distancing. We will do a passing of the peace time with options to greet one another without passing germs. When talking with one another, please do not stand too close and please keep your mask on. Please do not hug — I know that will be a hard one.
- Pews will be taped off to where you can sit to ensure that you do not sit too close to others.
- Trays will not be passed for communion or offering. You will receive communion from a Deacon when you enter. You may place your offering in the bins available in the back of the sanctuary.
- Attendance will be taken of those who attend in-person so that we know who to call if someone gets sick following the service.
- Singing isn’t yet safe. Aerosols spread differently when speaking versus when singing. The words of the hymns will be projected on the front wall. You are welcome to hum along.
- Bulletins will not be available. There will be a slideshow with hymn lyrics and info that would normally be in the bulletin.
You could bring Easter flowers that morning and take it with you when you leave. You can notify the office if you are bringing flowers in honor or memory of someone. Those will be included in the slideshow.
Pastor Tracy
**For all Zoom meetings, contact the office for participation information.**
ELDERS’ MEETING
The Elders are invited to meet on Sunday, March 28th at 1:00 PM via Zoom.
EVENING BOOK STUDY
Join this 3-week book study of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM via Zoom.
TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY
Please join us for Bible study on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 PM via Zoom. There is an optional prayer time at 1:45 PM.
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
The next meeting of the Leadership Council will be Sunday, March 21 at 1:00 PM via Zoom. This is an open meeting.
MAUNDY THURSDAY
Join us for a time of coffee and communion on Maundy Thursday at 7:00 PM on Thursday, April 1st via Zoom. We will have coffee for about 30 minutes and a short communion service at 7:30 PM. This will be similar to our Ash Wednesday gathering.
BOOK CLUB
Our next book is The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton. We will meet on Sunday, April 18th at 3:00 PM. This may be an in-person / online hybrid meeting. Stay tuned for more details.
PASTOR IN THE PARK
I am monitoring the weather so we can have a Pastor in the Park. It looks like ti may still be too cold in the evening.
RACIAL JUSTICE TEAM
The Leadership Council has approved moving forward with creating a racial justice working group to fight the sin of white surpremacy, both in the church and outside, and exploring how this work can bring us closer to God, fellow churches in our community, and be more active in the Kentucky Poor People’s Campaign and Kentucky Council of Churches work.
Our meetings will likely include a series that Pastor Tracy wrote on Racism and Slavery in the Bible, local calls to action on issues with a focus on their racial justice, and discussion on how we can work with other congregations to engage our broader community.
If you’re interested in being a part of this work, please contact the church office.
SPECIAL EASTER OFFERING
The Easter Offering, received by most congregations on March 28th and April 4th, 2021, supports several of the general ministries of the Christian Church. Your gift supports college students in leadership development programs, global mission partners, health and social service ministries, the formation of new congregations, support for pastors and chaplains, and so much more.
Please send your gift to the church with a notation that it is for the Easter Special Offering.
Sue and Stevef Rehfuss’ granddaughter, Maggie, is featured in a billboard campaign to raise awareness about Down Syndrom Day. The billboards are up now through Sunday. The best place you can see the billboard is:
- I-75 S/O Pike EL-NF
- Carothers Rd. W/O I-471 Newport KY NL-EF
NOTE OF THANKS
Dear Church Family,
Thank you for all the support and prayers for Lola and our family. Thank you for the donation to memorials for Lola. We are so grateful to have you in our lives.
Sincerely,
Darryl Lee and family
First Christian Church 