what to expect

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SUNDAY WORSHIP

One 10am Worship Service on Sunday, 3/15 (Simplified)

No choir, nursery, Sunday School or Coffee/Fellowship Hour. 

All volunteers are welcome to stay home if that is best. 

(Watch the sermon online using the button below)

Dear Community Presbyterian Church, 

As the leadership of the church, our primary concern in the moment of this Public Health Crisis of the COVID-19 Virus is pastoral. We want to make decisions and take precautions that prioritize the well-being of all in our church and those in our surrounding community. We encourage all of you as individuals and families to make the decisions that are best for your own health and well-being, now and in coming weeks. If you feel vulnerable and that the best decision is to stay home from public gatherings, we affirm and support that choice. We also want to offer those who are going out in public a chance to gather for worship, encouragement and prayer this Sunday, even if in an adapted format.

Your Elders on Session held a special meeting this afternoon to discern the best way forward for public gatherings for us as a church - worship and otherwise. We have decided to host one 10:00 am gathering this Sunday, simplified. We will sing, pray and hear an encouraging message. 

There will be no choir, no nursery, no kids' Sunday School, no coffee/fellowship hour. Our main reason for this is we want all who volunteer on Sundays to feel freed up to stay home if that is what is best for them. If you are signed up to volunteer for something, but would rather stay home, please do.

For now, we are approaching other smaller groups and gatherings on a case by case basis. If the leaders or convener of those groups, wishes to cancel, please notify the office. Keep your eye on email (sign up for our enews), our online calendar, and Facebook for updates. 

We as Pastor and Elders will meet again early next week to decide on next steps and will continue to communicate regularly. Please join us in prayer and discernment about community well-being as well as your own health and wellness. In the next week, we will make plans to be in touch with as many church members as we can for friendly and supportive conversations and prayers to minimize our experiences of isolation.

We do encourage you all to support the church in prayer and finances. If you do not yet, please set up recurring giving online. This will enable us to resume our regularly scheduled worship and  programming at full strength before long.

In the meantime, let's be the body of Christ together, sharing faith, encouragement and support in our church family and in our neighborhoods. To that end, let's all join together in the following: 

• Pray for those who are grieving loved ones, those who are sick and hurting from COVID-19 and all other illnesses and injuries.

• Pray for those who are overwhelmed by fear or anxiety. 

• Pray for our government and community leaders in the midst of making hard decisions and challenging communication. 

• Speak truth, compassion, and calm into this moment of crisis.

• Call each other and check in and share prayer and encouragement on the phone. 

• Check on your neighbors and take care of those in close proximity. 

We will get through this together and be stronger because of it. I trust God for that and I invite you to do the same. Our God is faithful, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Our God is Creator, Protector, Redeemer and Friend. 

In Christ, our good shepherd, 

Rev. Andrew Hoeksema