Dear Church Family,

In September, I met with the financial management board and the deacons. In both meetings we looked at how you’ve responded during this pandemic and we were amazed! During a season of uncertainty and change you’ve responded with great generosity. We are actually ahead in our giving compared to this time last year! I want to encourage you to continue with your faithful giving!

Also, we are seeing more and more people return to gathering in-person on Sunday mornings. We are currently averaging about 75% of our pre-pandemic attendance. In addition to the in-person attendance I want to encourage those of you who have been watching online. You have been faithful in staying engaged while sheltering in place. We will continue to provide our services online. We hope to be able to livestream our Sunday morning worship service soon. This will enable those of you who are watching from home to be able to watch the service on Sundays at 11am as it is happening. This is important because it will enable you to get back into the habit of worshipping with your church family on Sunday mornings.

The next step for us is to reintroduce our in-person Wednesday evening Bible studies. We will take this step on Wednesday, October 7th at 6:30pm. We will gather in the Social Hall for a time of prayer and Bible study. We will continue to incorporate a way for you to watch online through Zoom and Facebook. The youth will gather on the 3rd floor in the Youth Room for Bible study. As for the children, we are going to delay the relaunch of our children’s program until a later date. The reason for this is to enable us to launch an excellent children’s program that will minister to the families in our church and in our community. This program will be different than what we’ve offered before and I anticipate it will be a major emphasis of our Wednesday evenings. I’ve been in conversation with the families in our church and we’ve discussed some great ideas. I’m looking forward to how God is going to use Wednesday evenings to help children becoming growing followers of Jesus! With that said, if children attend before the launch date we will have an activity for them. Pray for us as we continue to put together this program!

One final thought, we are approaching the presidential election. In order to prepare for this national election as well as for our state and city elections we are going to do two things. First, we’re going to pray. During the month of October you will be provided with a small American flag and a prayer guide. I’m asking you to place the flag somewhere you will see it each day. As you see the flag I want you to allow it to prompt you to pray for our country. Truellen Baker has created a prayer guide for us to follow throughout the month leading up to the election in November. Both the flag and the prayer guide are available for you to pick up at the church. The second thing we’re going to do is walk through a sermon series entitled “The Elephant, The Donkey, and The Lamb.” Each Sunday leading up to the November election we will explore the relationship between Christianity and politics. The goal of this study is to help us represent Jesus as we engage in the political process. 

In Christ,

Pastor Ron Jones

Dear Church Family,

In times of constant change and uncertainty it’s important for the Christian to remember that God knows our needs and that He watches over us. Jesus said in Matthew 10:29-31, “29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” As I was thinking about this truth the well-known hymn entitled “His Eye is on the Sparrow” came to mind. That author of the hymn, Civilla Martin, said this about what inspired her to write the song:

“Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle's reply was simple: "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me." The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" was the outcome of that experience.”

Even in the midst of difficulty, change and discomfort God is with us. He not only watches over us but He is working for our good. Keep this truth in mind as we continue to walk by faith through these changing times.

In Christ,

Pastor Ron Jones