For Such A Time As This 042820 – John Grace
To the Good Folk of the Palmyra Church of the Brethren,
Until Further Notice (from the Executive Committee):
Instead of canceling gathering activities on a month by month or week by week basis, we are taking an “Until Further Notice” position. Until further notice all activities that involve group gatherings are canceled. We will continue our daily email devotions, weekly virtual worship services, zoom group gatherings and meetings, etc.… until further notice.
We are looking forward to the day we can begin resuming more normal activities! The process for reopening the church and restarting group gatherings is likely to be slow and staggered, guided by best health practices, as well as recommendations and mandates from our health care, governmental and religious leaders.
What Are You Thinking?
Today I watched an hour-long webcast on “Reopening the Church.” It was a good discussion among pastors of middle-sized congregations. I took lots of notes, as many excellent points were made and ideas were shared. No one thought that their church would be reopening right away or all at once, but in stages. Everyone thought that it was important to know how persons in their congregation where thinking and feeling. I agree. So, this is an invitation to share your thoughts and feelings with me about this issue. The best way is via email. Please share hopes, concerns, ideas, questions, etc… If you are in phone contact with someone who doesn’t have email, with their permission, please share anything they want to tell me. Hoping for lots of feedback, I will not be able to respond to each person, but I will share basic responses with other church leaders. Thank you for your love and commitment to our congregation!
Joys, Concerns and Prayers
If you have a joy or concern you would like us to share and pray about, please call, text or email it to me. If you would like it included in our Sunday Worship sharing and prayer time, please share it with me that week by Friday morning.
Thank You:
To all who call others to check in on them and share our emails and devotions.
Today’s Devotion:
I am thankful to John Grace for providing today’s devotion. I love John’s image of God as love. If you wish to respond to John directly, his email address is djgrace@comcast.net.
Shalom,
Dennis
Scripture: 1 John 4:16 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
So, we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
Thoughts
Two Saturdays ago, from noon to half past one, on our large TV screen could be seen a Zoom meeting via internet of all my descendants and their spouses along with Carol and me. The faces and voices, all of whom I could see and hear throughout the session were from Palmyra, Pittsburgh, Charlottesville, Chicago, Des Moines and New Orleans. My heart overflowed with love for all of them as we met together while apart.
It was another life experience that led me to thinking…about the love of God and the way I imagine God. I think of God as being love, a spirit that has no boundaries or physical location, a spirit that has no limitation on the number of people that are the subject of that love, a spirit that pours out love on the inhabitants of the world with no exceptions. I do not think of God as having a gender since love does not have one.
Although we are apart from each other now, we are still bound together by love. I like my Dad’s poem that I read not long ago in a morning service that says, “love is all there is.” I believe that as we experience the present difficulties, we can discover anew the importance of love…the only thing that really matters. As I look outdoors, the birds are singing; the grass is green; the sky is blue; the air is pure; the cherry trees are blossoming, and God’s love abounds.
Prayer
Loving God, we thank you for your love for us. Help us to know and understand the importance of love. Help us to share your love that is in us with our neighbors here and throughout the world. With Jesus as our example we pray. Amen.
Until Further Notice (from the Executive Committee):
Instead of canceling gathering activities on a month by month or week by week basis, we are taking an “Until Further Notice” position. Until further notice all activities that involve group gatherings are canceled. We will continue our daily email devotions, weekly virtual worship services, zoom group gatherings and meetings, etc.… until further notice.
We are looking forward to the day we can begin resuming more normal activities! The process for reopening the church and restarting group gatherings is likely to be slow and staggered, guided by best health practices, as well as recommendations and mandates from our health care, governmental and religious leaders.
What Are You Thinking?
Today I watched an hour-long webcast on “Reopening the Church.” It was a good discussion among pastors of middle-sized congregations. I took lots of notes, as many excellent points were made and ideas were shared. No one thought that their church would be reopening right away or all at once, but in stages. Everyone thought that it was important to know how persons in their congregation where thinking and feeling. I agree. So, this is an invitation to share your thoughts and feelings with me about this issue. The best way is via email. Please share hopes, concerns, ideas, questions, etc… If you are in phone contact with someone who doesn’t have email, with their permission, please share anything they want to tell me. Hoping for lots of feedback, I will not be able to respond to each person, but I will share basic responses with other church leaders. Thank you for your love and commitment to our congregation!
Joys, Concerns and Prayers
If you have a joy or concern you would like us to share and pray about, please call, text or email it to me. If you would like it included in our Sunday Worship sharing and prayer time, please share it with me that week by Friday morning.
Thank You:
To all who call others to check in on them and share our emails and devotions.
Today’s Devotion:
I am thankful to John Grace for providing today’s devotion. I love John’s image of God as love. If you wish to respond to John directly, his email address is djgrace@comcast.net.
Shalom,
Dennis
Scripture: 1 John 4:16 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
So, we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
Thoughts
Two Saturdays ago, from noon to half past one, on our large TV screen could be seen a Zoom meeting via internet of all my descendants and their spouses along with Carol and me. The faces and voices, all of whom I could see and hear throughout the session were from Palmyra, Pittsburgh, Charlottesville, Chicago, Des Moines and New Orleans. My heart overflowed with love for all of them as we met together while apart.
It was another life experience that led me to thinking…about the love of God and the way I imagine God. I think of God as being love, a spirit that has no boundaries or physical location, a spirit that has no limitation on the number of people that are the subject of that love, a spirit that pours out love on the inhabitants of the world with no exceptions. I do not think of God as having a gender since love does not have one.
Although we are apart from each other now, we are still bound together by love. I like my Dad’s poem that I read not long ago in a morning service that says, “love is all there is.” I believe that as we experience the present difficulties, we can discover anew the importance of love…the only thing that really matters. As I look outdoors, the birds are singing; the grass is green; the sky is blue; the air is pure; the cherry trees are blossoming, and God’s love abounds.
Prayer
Loving God, we thank you for your love for us. Help us to know and understand the importance of love. Help us to share your love that is in us with our neighbors here and throughout the world. With Jesus as our example we pray. Amen.
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