Hello Everyone.
With Pastor Marty taking the week to recharge after an intense Holy Week, I am reaching out with some updates for the congregation from church council. Before I start on the update, I did want to celebrate our coming together as a community during this difficult time. Shelter in Place is not easy, and I know I have struggled during it. I miss the ability to give someone a hug, to give a high five, or to just smile while making actual eye contact with someone I care about. Zoom is a fantastic tool, but I am feeling the lack of actual physical presence sharply. Pastor described it during a council meeting as this unique thing where while your mind thinks you are being social, your spirit knows there is something missing.
As we are all stuck home, I hope that the activities at Our Savior’s have helped every one of you as much as they have helped me. This is a loving community where you can see God’s work actively happening. In my case, I even snuck into a choir zoom session alongside Emilee. For those of you who have sat near me during a service, do not worry. I didn’t sing!
Council Update
I also wanted to provide an update regarding Council’s efforts over the past month or so. We have been meeting weekly, and we have much work to share. To that end, we put together the following YouTube video. You can think of this as the equivalent to an update after a Sunday service. Watch below!
In this video, I discuss:
- Closing the church building and forwarding the mail,
- Our on-going transition to an outside vendor to support our finances including the short-term plan for check donations,
- Our new hire of a Communications Administrator, Violet Breeden.
Much love from me, and Council, to everyone in this community. We are connecting to God, and each other, in a powerful way right now.
Peace, Dan Baack
Message from Pastor Marty
Hey All,
Happy Easter! Christ our Lord is Risen. He is Risen indeed—Alleluia! I hope everyone had the chance to hear the Easter Gospel of the Good News of Jesus in our lives as a Resurrected Lord! Peace to you as we engage this message in new ways in this strange time.
A Word about Next Sunday’s Worship Service. We are going LIVE!! We will try a new style of worship next Sunday as we gather together on a Zoom channel. I wanted to wait to try this until after Easter, so let’s give it a try! Please look for the link for worship later in the week with a copy of the bulletin. Also, get some bread and wine ready for next Sunday as we will be doing some digital Communion. I will bless you all with words, and we will be fed by the Christ who meets us behind locked doors and in small communities dispersed.
Finally, thanks to everybody for your flexibility during these times. Many of you have stepped up to provide digital material to help me put these services together. Let’s keep it up, especially as we move forward in some new ways after Easter!
Christ our Lord is Risen! He is Risen Indeed—Alleluia!!
Peace, Pastor Marty
This ‘n’ That
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Bread for the World letter-writing campaign on Maundy Thursday afternoon via Zoom. We collectively wrote 33 letters to our congressional representatives asking them to support Senate Bill 1918 which would provide federal funding for lunches to be served at schools all summer since so many families have lost income in the pandemic. OSL participation will be reported to BFW. You can still write a letter. The information is posted on the OSL web site. Thanks again for your engagement in this mission of our congregation.
Care of Creation – How does the COVID-19 virus relate to the climate crisis? Scientists have speculated that climate change is melting permafrost soils that have been frozen for thousands of years. As the soils melt they are releasing ancient viruses and bacteria that, having lain dormant, are springing back to life. Not that COVID-19 came from there, but it is creating the kind of scenario that scientists have been considering possible. COVID-19 is helping us prepare for what could lie ahead. Action: April 1 was officially national Census Day! Be sure to fill out your Census!
Save those toiletries, because Helping Hands will be back collecting items for the disadvantaged when we are up and running again.
Readings for Sunday, April 19 – 2nd Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 16
I Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
