Dear Emmanuel Family,
As you know the Session at Emmanuel has been engaging in discussions about our communal response to the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Given both Governor Jay Inslee’s orders to close schools through April 24th and to cancel gatherings over 250 people and the guidelines issued by King County Public Health regarding safeguards that need to be in place for gatherings under 250, the Session at Emmanuel has decided we will not have a worship service in our sanctuary this Sunday, March 15th.
We will however, offer our church family an opportunity to be a part of an online video conference via a platform called Zoom. If you would like to be a part of that gathering you will need to have a computer, phone or tablet that has a camera and a microphone. At 10:00 am on Sunday, March 15 access this message (or an email that you may have received with this same information) and click on this link: https://zoom.us/j/489844680.
Once you click on the link you will be given a series of prompts that will connect you with our meeting. Initially your microphone will be turned off, but you should be able to hear me and when it comes time for prayer I will be able to activate the microphones of those who wish to offer a prayer request or share a word or gratitude or praise.
This is, in my mind, a feeble replacement for in-person worship. Yet given that we had less than 50% of our normal worship attendance last Sunday, it is clear that many of you think it is prudent not to attend public gatherings at this time. Thank you for your patience and perseverance. Thank you for loving your neighbor by becoming a part of helping to contain the spread of this viral infection.
Yet it must be said that these actions bring with them the unfortunate experience of isolation. In a congregation like ours where the majority of our members are over the age of 60, worship and fellowship over the internet will probably not be sustainable because it will not be something that sustains. I know that many people in our congregation will not even receive this email, and many who do will not have the means of connecting to our meeting this Sunday on Zoom. So we need to work at staying in touch with one another and so mitigate the isolating effects of this pandemic.
In light of this, here are some of the things we are doing or thinking about doing in the near future. Already there is a team of folks who are working at calling people in the congregation who have not been in worship over the past few weeks, and they are now looking for help to expand the call list to include the whole congregation. If you are interested in being a part of this team to help out with making these calls, please email me (daver@epcbothell.org) and I will put you in touch with the people who are organizing this. Second, I am exploring ways that small groups of folks can meet outdoors on a variety of days and times for shorter services of worship, communion and fellowship. These meetings would be in compliance with the King County Health Department guidelines for small meetings. Stay tuned for more information about these gatherings.
I will stay in regular touch via these emails, but I continue to ask your help in spreading the word to those people in the congregation who are not in this communication loop. Thank you for continuing to care for one another and to look for ways that we can love our neighbors in this challenging time.
Dave