A Word from the Pastors | 07-13-22 – St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church

Church Council.

Your elected servant-leaders gathered for a Zoom meeting on Monday, July 11, 2022. They will probably not meet in August and anticipate gathering in Rhoda Hall in person on September 12 at 7:00PM. We continue to be grateful for each of our Church Council members, for their commitment to our Lord Jesus and to this congregation of his people, and for their willingness to serve beyond normal three-year terms during the strange and challenging COVID times we have been and are facing!

Some notes from the July meeting:

Minutes from the May 9 and June 13 Zoom meetings were reviewed and approved (with one minor correction).
Pastors Gwen and Neil reflected on the first four Sundays of hybrid worship: “Each Sunday has been an experience of remembering, renewing, adjusting, and rejoicing. Don’t have the exact figures – maybe an average of 40 persons physically present, 30 Zoom households, 3 or 4 on Facebook (but, as Veronica noted, the Facebook figures represent “during worship”, 48 people were “reached” by Monday morning, with 18 “clicking” onto the worship video… so who knows the extended effect?). We’re still learning, still working through some video and sound issues.”

Pastor Gwen attended the ordination service of Dedra Florence Johnson (an African American graduate of the Lutheran Theological Seminary who had to wait a long, long time for a call), who will be the pastor of Grace Lutheran in West Philadelphia.

Guest Preachers: Pastor John Gottschall preached on June 19 (Scholarship Sunday and Juneteenth); Pastor David Maddox II will preach on July 24.

Six of our teens will officially transition into adult membership on July 31 through the rite of Confirmation. They will publicly confirm that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior. And the Holy Spirit will confirm them as followers of Christ.

The Pastors reported that we will have about 10 kids going to Bear Creek Camp in August (Session #8) and expressed gratitude for financial support from within the congregation to help enable this.

The Pastors reported that, because of a volunteer truck breakdown, a U-Haul pickup truck was rented for the last three Whole Food distribution ministries. The bulk of those expenses have been covered by generous contributions from the congregation and the neighbors who have been served.

Pastor Gwen reported that she will be away on vacation with the Johnson family for one week. Pastor Neil reported that he will be having surgery on July 21 for an enlarged prostate and anticipates missing one or more Sundays and perhaps several weeks as he recovers. (He will probably spend one night in the hospital… guess which Pastor’s “room” will cost a lot more! Pray for those in our nation and our world who can’t afford and receive proper medical care.)

Finances. A written report was presented and detailed by Ben. After six months (January – June) BUDGET INCOME was $78,083.48 and BUDGET EXPENSES were $86,792.71, a deficit of $8,709.23. Ben expressed some relief and hopefulness because the deficit did not increase and was actually reduced by about $400 in June; he also believes that coming back into the sanctuary will have a positive effect on giving. (3which As always, utilities, compensation, and commercial insurance are the largest expense

Church Council celebrated that there was an encouraging number of children and youth present in the sanctuary for worship this past Sunday, and that we are renewing ministry to them through the Youth and Family Community Dinner on July 24, through Confirmation on July 31, through Vacation Bible School August 1-5, and through Bear Creek Camp the week of August 10.

Gratitude.

We ought to thank God for the blessing of still being alive… for the blessing of still being a congregation… and the blessing of gathering the resources and having the opportunity to move forward into a new experience of worship that will be in but also beyond the sanctuary. We’re still working out some of the “kinks” of our hybrid worship… and we maintain our commitment to blend the people “here” and the people “there”. Please be patient as we make adjustments.

Some guidelines to “in-person” worship:

COVID has morphed into yet another variation or two, infection numbers have recently increased in some places, and we continue to understand that we don’t really understand. Here we are repeating some of our previous guidelines.

We strongly encourage, but do not require, persons to be vaccinated. Vaccinations related to COVID have become so politicized and surrounded by misinformation, and sometimes we have completely lost the notion that my vaccination is not just to protect me but also to protect you. Christians seek to always have the welfare of the other person in their heart and mind and actions. [And a recent medical statistic: Two years later, the persons who are currently filling the ICUs of hospitals are 95% unvaccinated.]
If our city, county, or state government officials are requiring masks indoors, or if the medical authorities are requiring or advising them, then please wear a mask. When this is not the situation, then we will be “mask optional” but also “mask friendly”. Recently and in some areas, masking has been strongly encouraged again.
We do not intend to start with designated “social distance” markers in the sanctuary (such as roped off pews, etc.). Let’s try to be respectful of one another’s comfort zone regarding interacting with others.
We anticipate not having a robust and “hands-on” sharing of the peace during worship, something that has been treasured here at St. Peter’s. Yes, this will be a difficult adjustment even for the Pastors.
We will offer Holy Communion with individual wafers and pouring chalice (but not the “common cup”). We’ll not stand or kneel at the altar to receive Holy Communion but will have a continuous standing distribution. This might be adjusted over time.
We will probably wait a few weeks into our “hybrid worship” before we start meeting downstairs for fellowship after worship.
We will seek to ventilate our worship area through lots of fans, opened windows, and perhaps opened outside doors.

Over the two years of this strange COVID experience, the “risk” has now shifted to individual decision and personal responsibility regarding attendance, masking (unless orders are in effect), social distancing, etc. Immunocompromised individuals (such things as cancer; diabetes; HIV; heart conditions; chronic kidney, liver, and lung diseases, etc.) who have concerns or questions should consult with their healthcare providers. And we should remember that, other than the unvaccinated, the only other significant vulnerability as a group is the “under 5 years of age” population.

At one time, people were complimented and admired (and, truth be told, sometimes expected and forced!) by others for showing up and pressing on when they didn’t feel well that day. But this has changed. Now the schools, the jobs, the dentists, the organizations, the stores, the relatives, and the churches all say:

IF YOU JUST DO NOT FEEL WELL, STAY HOME.

We pray that you summer is safe and blessed.

Keep the faith… but not to yourself.

Pastor Neil & Pastor Gwen