“Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 

-Mark 12:28-31       

 

Kindred in Christ,

We did not expect to be where we are right now. From months ago when we started hearing about the first cases, up to even halfway through last week, we might not have guessed that we would be finding new ways to be the church as we strive to manage the spread of COVID-19. Following worship the Board, in conversation with members, agreed to suspend all in-person activities including, but not limited to worship on Sunday morning.

 

But we have had something of a mantra since Sunday morning. Self-isolation doesn’t have to mean social-isolation (thanks Jane Blakely!). Even though the church isn’t as active in person as it was this time last week, we have not stopped being the church. We are still called to live into our mission statement:

 

To glorify God through Worship, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ and serving others in Christ’s name.

 

Glorifying God Through Worship

We will continue to Glorify God Through Worship, but worship will look different. Because we will not be meeting in person, we want to invite you to join us in the virtual world, and each week there are two opportunities to create a space for worship.

  • First, on Sunday morning we will be moving our regular worship online and utilizing both our Zoom platform and Facebook live to bring you prayers, music, and the Word. You can join us on Zoom by going to  this page: http://www.stpaulsunited.ca/livestream/ and following the instructions to log in. If Facebook is more your space, we will be streaming live on facebook as well, just go to our page https://www.facebook.com/StPaulsUnitedFredericton/. Both streams will start at 10:30 AM on Sunday morning. We hope to see you there! 
  • The second opportunity for centering and worshipping comes on Sunday evenings. We have already been doing the Lenten Prayer Service online, but we want to invite you anew to come and pray as we journey together through this Lenten season. Join Rev. Richard at 7 PM on Sundays by going to this page: http://www.stpaulsunited.ca/lenten-prayer-services/ and following the instructions to log in.

 

Proclaiming the Gospel of Christ

As a community of faith in self-isolation there are still lots of ways that we can proclaim and live into the Gospel. Check out some of the ways below.

  • While we don’t have our Sunday morning Bible Study running at the moment, we do have an opportunity to share in faith and discuss the Word in the form of “God’s Story, Our Story”. For almost a year we had been including an insert in the bulletin for at home discussion and reflection, but now we’re bringing it online. On Wednesdays at 2 PM, join Rev. Michelle by going to this page: http://www.stpaulsunited.ca/gods-story-our-story/ and following the instructions to log in.
  • Our Facebook page was a pretty busy place even before we suspended in-person activities at the church. There you will find many posts about the goings on of the church, but I want to invite you to check out the Lenten Practices that have been and will continue to be posted throughout this season of Lent. Some include giving thanks to God, taking stock of the blessings we have, and even a practice as simple as just being. Check out the Facebook page for more: https://www.facebook.com/StPaulsUnitedFredericton/

 

Serving Others in Christ’s Name

You may have noticed above or while touring around the St. Paul’s United Church website, that there have been quite a few changes and additions to our page. The ministry team have been working hard since Sunday afternoon to make it as easy as possible for you to get the information that you need during this time. Some of the big pieces of work include:

 

  • A Phone Tree. Staying in touch is so important, especially when many of us are staying inside and avoiding most in-person contact. Following the decision to suspend in-person activities on Sunday after worship, Rev. Michelle and Rev. Richard set out to build a phone tree to keep over 200 families/individuals connected. We want to thank the 42 volunteers who agreed to be a part of that work. Let me say that again: ***Thank-you to each and every one of you who said yes to keeping us all connected. Thank-you as well to those who agreed to be backups. Thank-you to those who considered it, but had to say no because they are juggling more than their fair share in personal and/or professional lives.*** The work we do together strengthens us as the body of Christ.
  • Website Updates. As mentioned there have been a number of pages added to/updated on the St. Paul’s United Church website. We have links to our worship, our prayer services, our faith discussions (all listed above), and even a page dedicated to updates to our response to COVID-19: http://www.stpaulsunited.ca/covid-19-updates/. The ministry team has been working hard to make the website as accessible and informative as possible, and so any feedback would be appreciated.
  • Office Support. Our office administrator, Eric, has been holding down the fort in the office, taking your calls, and being a contact and information point. His regular work continues, even though it has changed in some ways during the suspension. Give him a call and thank him for the work he has been doing, and maybe try going on PAR while you are at it.
  • Feeding People. While in-person activities have been suspended, Eric has been working with minimal volunteers to make sure that some programs, like the Pantry and Brown Bag Lunches, are still able to feed people in the safest ways possible.

 

 

As we strive to do church in a different way, being intentional about our financial support of the church is as important now as ever. The year started with several closures due to weather, and now with the suspension for a minimum of 2 weeks, we are keeping a close eye on finances. Eric can process credit card donations by phone, and as of now Canada Post is still delivering mail if you want to send your envelopes in that way. You might also consider calling the office and switching to PAR, or if PAR isn’t for you, you can make donations each week through Canada Helps: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/108037383RR0001-st-pauls-united-church/. Your gifts allow us to do the work God calls us to do.

 

We are giving up a lot in this season of Lent, but our connectedness and our faith do not have to be among them. You ministers and office staff are still working hard to foster a connected community. The words that begin this notice remind us of the two most important things in our faith lives: To love God with all that we are, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. We can still pray together, though separated by distance. We can still gather for worship, though virtually. We can still reach out to our kindred in Christ, even if it is just by phone or email.

 

We are still the church. We are still the body of Christ. We are still United.

 

Let us pray:

You call us to love, O Christ:

to love our God;

to love our neighbour;

and in turn to love this world.

As we distance ourselves from one another, keep us close to you.

Embrace us as we long for the embrace of those from whom we are cut off.

Guide us as we strive to continue to be your people:

working in a new way,

following in your Way.

Hear our prayers and move in us, we pray. AMEN

 

Yours in Christ,        

Rev. Richard and Rev. Michelle