Trinity Grace,
I am sure—like me—you are overwhelmed by the news of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) & the ever-changing implications of it (e.g., school closures, event cancellations, etc.). It is a difficult time & seems like it will continue to be a difficult time for the foreseeable.
As a church, we have been carefully monitoring the developments of this virus, as well as consulting pastors & churches in our region in regards to what decisions we must make.
Along these lines, we intend to move forward with the following plan.
First, we plan to meet this Sunday, March 15.
Numerous events are being cancelled in the United States & in our community right now. When large crowds gather, there is an increased chance for COVID-19 to spread more rapidly & overwhelm our health care systems, so in an effect to “flatten the curve” (LINK) & reduce the rate of spreading, many events are being cancelled. This is very wise.
That said, we plan to meet this Sunday, because:
We desperately need the Word, prayer, worship, & one another—especially in times like these.
We fall far below the size where canceling is strongly encouraged or mandated by government or civic leaders.
We intend to take careful steps prior to the service (detailed below).
However:
We are cancelling Women’s Community Group this week & the Couples Night on April 1.
We plan to meet next Sunday with the same careful steps below; however, we will be in touch this week.
Second, we plan to take extra steps for the protection of our church & community.
We plan to take extra steps not mainly to protect & watch out for ourselves, as many of us are healthy & the coronavirus is not a great danger to us. We plan to take extra steps to love our neighbors well, as commanded by our Lord Jesus, & to protect the vulnerable in our church & community.
TWU plans to deeply clean the Colloms Center prior to Sunday.
In addition:
We will wipe down all doors, handles, & surfaces prior to the service & during the service.
We will require everyone to wash hands after entering the Colloms Center, before the meeting.
We will not be serving coffee or passing offering baskets.
That said, please stay home:
if you have a fever, cough, or don’t feel well.
if you are over 60 or have serious chronic medical conditions.
if you have young children (under age 2).
if you just uncomfortable attending.
Please do not feel bad for staying home. It is wise for you to do so for any of the above reasons.
**For anyone who stays home, we will post audio & video of the service Sunday afternoon.**
Third, we plan to pray.
Our President has called this Sunday a National Day of Prayer. We welcome his leadership & want to support his leadership in this way. A sizable chunk of our service will be devoted to prayer.
Prayer is how we declare our dependence upon God & call on him to do things we cannot do.
We will pray against the spread of this virus. We will pray for our President, government, & local leaders. We will pray for men, women, & children who have been infected—throughout the world & the United States. We will pray for health professionals & folks in service industries with greater exposures.
Fourth, we plan to calmly trust God together.
I just saw a video of people in Italy singing with one another from their windows into empty streets. In times like these, we need one another.
And, more importantly, we need God. One of the core promises of the Bible is found in Isaiah 41:10: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Let us not give in to fear or worry. Let us not panic. The Lord will never leave us.
Let us calmly trust God together.
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Amen.
