To see the most recent update, please click here.
Dear Members and Friends of St. James Lutheran Church,
God bless you and I hope you’re doing well. God is not taken off guard by this pandemic (although perhaps we are). He is with us with all His love and resources, and we are here for each other. Though daily life is suddenly very different, it is not out of His hands.
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
Psalm 23:1
As a church we are taking the concerns about the Covid-19 virus very seriously. I want to inform you about a few things regarding church over the next seven days.
- We will be having worship services at all the usual times, although, of course, we won’t be shaking hands, etc. and will have Communion by intinction (“dunking”) only. We have taken steps to clean and sanitize all surfaces, and we continue to do this. And there will be Sunday School at 10:00 am. The governmental authorities have not asked us to forgo worship services. At the same time, if you feel it is best to stay home, we support you in that decision. You need to do what is right for you and your family.
- Here’s what we have cancelled:
- the cafe after service
- the mid-week Lenten soup supper and video
- the Tuesday morning mom’s group
- the Thursday morning Bible study
- the March 16th Olson’s Rest Home visit
- Anticipating that this is not going to be like a hurricane which, while severe, passes quickly, we are making preparations for the longer haul. For example, we’re establishing a `phone tree’ to keep in touch with our members, especially those more at risk. We’ll be assembling volunteers to run errands for anyone who mustn’t leave their home. In the near future we will also record and transmit over the internet parts of our worship service.
- It would be very helpful if everyone got the church app. In fact, I’m asking you as your pastor, please download the church app. It really helps us to be together when we can’t be together. Here’s how you can put the app on your phone:
- Go to the place you normally download apps from – on iPhones, the Apple App Store, or on Android phones, the Google Play Store.
- Search for “St. James Lutheran Church.”
- There will be a couple of options, you are looking for the one with our church’s logo (the red cross with the shell in the middle).
- Checking in on the church’s web site is also helpful for similar reasons as #4 (above). We will do our best to keep the site updated regularly.
- No one’s alone here. We are family; we’re all in this together. Doubt your fears, trust your faith, look out for each other.
All for the King,
+Pr. Neil