As we look forward to the celebration of Pentecost (Sunday, May 31) and the month of June, the voice of David Bowie is echoing in my head, ‘Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes…’
Some things will not change as we enter the month of June. We will not regather in our Sanctuary for worship during the month of June. (You will receive more information concerning this decision in a churchwide email this week.) We will still be Livestreaming our Sunday morning 10:30 worship service. We will continue to offer MidWeek Fellowship Bible Study and Prayer via Livestream on Wednesday evenings at 6:15. Our Pastoral Care Team will be offering comfort, prayers, challenges and guidance via telephone, Skype and a variety of other media. The church’s ministers and staff will remain in contact with our membership and convey to colleagues any needs they glean from their conversations. Some things will not change.
Some things will change. We will not provide Viral Vespers on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings during June. This will provide a summer break for our ministers whose creativity is a tad taxed. It also gives the church at large a sense of summer break—seasonal rhythm. There will also be no Saturday Night Facebook Live concerts during the month of June. Added to our schedule will be the opening of the AYMC walking track (limited hours and participants) and the all new ‘Church Chat’ on Sunday mornings at 9:00. A Zoom link will be sent to the membership, and we will gather (capacity for 500!) for a short devotional and chat. Yep, it’s an opportunity for you to ask me anything! You can ask questions about the presented devotional content, the upcoming sermon, a past sermon, any church matter, some grand theological issue you’ve been pondering, or any personal question about me. (Am I not brave?) This is an opportunity for me to move beyond talking to a camera each week and actually get to talk to you! For our first Church Chat—9:00am, Sunday, May 31—be sure to wear red. It’s Pentecost. Let’s fill the screen with red shirts, hats, scarves, dresses…and yes…PJs.
Some things are changing…but the love we have for God, each other, the broader church, and the world remains. Thanks be to God.
—Jim