Most news and updates are emailed to our email list. Very occasionally a printable version is created since Covid19. That's because there have been fewer office hours and pandemic restrictions. Few printable newsletters are needed--the mailed list includes 12-15 names. Email saves us time and expense--do we have your email address? Your correct email address? (Postage rates go up again in July.) Send us an email at graceumcmiddletown@gmail.com
Lisa and I miss you all so very much. We look forward to
the day when we are all together again in a similar fashion to what we are used
to. I know I miss our worship, talking before and after worship, spending time
with our children and youth, communion, and so much more.
As you know Governor Northam has said that churches may
resume worship this weekend in a limited way. That is not the case with the
churches of the VA Conference. Bishop Lewis is not permitting in-person worship
at this time.
The conference has designed a handbook that each church
is to use to get ready for in-person worship. We have been instructed to form a
Healthy Church Team and I have asked several people to serve as members. If you
are interested please contact me.
The handbook is very extensive. As I read it yesterday I
was impressed with the care and hard work that went into it. It is also very,
very clear that worship will not be the same at all during the first weeks or
months of opening under the provisions of this handbook.
For example, everyone will have to register to attend
worship by Thursday of each week. Everyone who attends will need to wear a
mask, come with their own hand sanitizer, take their temperature at home that
morning, and sit six feet from another person or family. There will be no
nursery, children's time during worship, fellowship time, handshakes or
hugging, no choir or singing. If you are sick in any way you are to stay home.
No baptisms. No passing of the plate for the offering. There is also the
suggestion that the service be rather brief, no more than 30 minutes or so. The
longer everyone is together the higher the risk of a possible exposure to the virus.
Once the service is over everyone leaves. There will be no bulletin, hymnals,
pew Bibles, or any other similar materials. No Sunday School.
So as you can see under these strict protocols things
will be very, very different. Once the bishop decides a specific date we can
determine if that works for us or can wait until we are ready. Classes and
groups can continue to use Zoom and committees can meet with 10 or less members
present and physical distancing. I will continue to put a sermon on Facebook
each week with lots of help from Lisa.
The motive for these restrictions is one taken from Mr.
Wesley who took it from the Hippocratic Oath: "Do No Harm." We also
want to hear our Lord's call to "Love your neighbor as you love
yourself" (Matthew 22:39 NIV).
We take all the precautions we need because we do not want
this to happen at Grace:https://www.wrcbtv.com/story/42126834/ringgold-church-cancels-services-after-3-church-members-test-positive-for-covid19
So at this time we seek wisdom from the Lord in how we
may best care for one another. We pray for the day when this virus subsides and
many are healed. We pray for our leaders, scientists, and those who work in healthcare
and who are first responders.
Again, we miss you and look forward to being together
again as church family.
I have now completed five rounds of chemo and immunotherapy! One
more round to go in June and then I am finished with the chemo. I will be
having immunotherapy now and then to keep me going, but the chemo will be done.
The chemo has killed the cancer very well, but has wreaked havoc with my immune
system and caused delays in treatment. So Dr. Ingram reduced the dosage so I
can finish it. I am being given booster shots to support my immune system so
he's got that covered also. He spent 20-25 minutes with me Monday going over
options. He even considered stopping the chemo, but when he told me he could
lessen the dosage I said let's go for that. I'm all for killing cancer! As I
said above the immunotherapy will continue for a bit longer.
Lisa and I appreciate all the prayers and concern and many cards
and gifts you have given us during this time. Your love has been so very
evident. What a blessing it is to be a part of our church family. We have
missed everyone so very, very much. Thank you for your patience with us as we
continue to put the sermon on Facebook and learn that technology. I'm finding
that is a substitute for the real thing which is the gathered body together in
worship and mission. Technology is a substitute, but not a savior. It can only
take us so far.
At this time I do not know when we will be together again in
worship. Perhaps next month, perhaps not. When we do return things will
probably be different. We may be wearing masks, not singing, receiving
communion in a different way, and continue to practice physical distancing. We
don't know all the details yet, but I do think that things will be very
different for a while.
You may be wondering about the "not singing" comment
above. Since the virus is a respiratory virus it is believed that singing can
spread the virus. Perhaps you heard about the choir that practiced several
months ago and many of the members got very sick soon after practice and being
close together.
In this crisis time, when Easter was weird, we are alone together,
people are wearing masks, restaurants are limited in what they can offer, so
many have lost their jobs, and so many have died, we cry out to God for mercy
and healing and hope. I read at least one Psalm a day and that practice has
sustained me during this time when the virus and my treatments have changed my
schedule, disrupted my sleep, and caused me to be frustrated, worried, or
afraid. The Psalms are a constant reminder that our life is with God, that he
is with us, guiding us, and teaching us, and that his steadfast love never
fails us. That is very good news to me. In this Easter season we are constantly
reminded that Jesus is alive and present with us and his promise is that he
will always be with us come what may.
I do hope we get to see one another soon. Until then stay safe and
be blessed.
Thank you to Matt and Katie Fauver for making this beautiful aerial video of our church using their drone! It’s just beautiful set to the music of Amazing Grace.We are blessed with such talented people in this church!
Stewardship Matters
Generosity in a pandemic
My sign-off for these monthly stewardship articles is ‘Practice
generosity. Always practice generosity!” Today, even with the concerns about a
recession, it still is!
These are most unusual of all unusual times. No one living has
ever seen anything like it unless they were alive during the 1918-1919
pandemic, which took the lives of millions around the world. The economic
struggles we have experienced in the past fifty years, however, has some
familiarity to it. A few remember the great depression. Others know the volatility
of the economy as it hits rough spots with recessions and near depressions. Now
we have the specter of serious harm to the economy.
Researchers who study the economy and philanthropy trends have
documented over many years that Americans are not particularly generous, giving
away about 2% of our income. This has been documented as a historical reality.
But what is very interesting is that at one point it reached 3%. Do you know when
that was? The answer: during the Depression. The years 1929 – 1939 marked a
terrible economic downturn for the country. Massive unemployment dogged the
nation and lines stretched for blocks as people faced dire hunger, waiting to
get a little bit of food. It was a long, dark period of painful memories.
What researchers tell us is that when we all had less to give we
all gave more!
This downturn in our economy is not a time to give less. Truly. Please
do not hoard money you do not need while others are hurting. If you are
fortunate enough to retain your job and wages, give generously as you are able
to support the ongoing ministries of your church.
Let me make an appeal to my age group, senior citizens.
My wife and I are blessed to receive Social Security and a pension
(thank you very much, UM’s, after 30 years of ministry!). We have some investments
that further support our lifestyle. Therefore, we believe we can afford to be
generous with the stimulus we expect to receive. In fact, we have covenanted to
give most of it away, first to the church and secondly, to help those hit hard
by loss of wages. Seniors: as you are able this is a time to ask God to show
you who and how to help. (Gift cards may be best).
The churches that will be remembered fondly when this is over are
the churches that stretched and supported the community in which they reside,
assisting households in and out of the church family. If your church has funds
earmarked for generous acts of compassion and support, do not withhold those
thinking ‘we need to cut back’.
How do you want your church to be remembered a year from now? What will the community say about your
church?
So please, practice generosity. Always practice generosity!
Making the plan
In a forthcoming book and workbook that I am writing, Making
the Plan, designed to help Christians do prudent planning for end-of-life
issues, one of the topics I write on is making choices now so that your family
does not have to, and so grief is not mixed with making uncertain decisions on
your behalf.
Another topic is, documenting the furniture and other important
items you have in your house, its history, and who you want to pass it along to
when you are gone. (written, oral, or video) This book/workbook is the result
of my Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising from The Lake Institute
(Indiana University School of Philanthropy). This is an excellent project
during this ‘shelter-in-place’ period. See below.
Take pictures, tell the story, protect your valuables
What furniture do you have which has a family story to tell? What
heirlooms are in your jewelry box that others may not know how they came to
you? Take a picture and record the story so family members will not toss them
out.
There is another reason for having pictures of your possessions.
Whatever you have in your house is subject to the ravages of fire, tornado,
floods, or other destructive elements beyond your control. If this happens your
homeowner’s insurance will (hopefully) cover your costs of rebuilding. But you
WILL be asked to supply in writing what your loss entailed from furniture to
jewelry to clothes. I assure you, you will not be able to remember everything.
What to do? Take inventory! Take pictures! Take pictures of each
room with its furniture, and each piece of furniture. Take pictures of your
jewelry, the clothes hanging in your closet, the appliances. Don’t forget the
garage. If you have highly valuable art/antiques/jewelry, this is especially
important. This can easily be done with a camera, phone or otherwise, filming
items while you walk through the house, and then storing it in the Cloud for
safekeeping. Better yet, export the
pictures to a flash drive/CD, and store them in a safe deposit box or someplace
absolutely secure.
Quote from State Farm: “Items
destroyed in a house fire are usually covered by insurance. Typically, the
homeowner’s policy is a replacement cost policy. When a loss occurs, you will
receive the actual cash value of your damaged items at the time of settlement
and may recover the replacement cost once the items have been replaced. To help
ensure everything is accounted for, keep an inventory of your possessions. This
inventory should include the date of purchase, cost at purchase and description
of each item, wherever possible.” www.StateFarm.com/simple-insights/residence/what-to-do-after-a-house-fire.
Consider scanning your receipts (if
you have them) and pictures to your computer, and then transfer them on to a
flash drive/CD and keep it in your safe deposit box, or some other safe back-up
program.
Church Trustees
You should do the same with the
furniture in your church, everywhere, in every room. Starting with the
sanctuary and its sacred furniture, the organ, the stained glass, then moving
to the kitchen, the furnace(s), then to the classrooms. Document everything
with pictures.
Our Website is an important resource. The Bishop’s Daily prayer is
there, there’s a link to our Facebook page, and you can sign up to mow and trim
the church yard. There are links to our
New Grace Notes Blog, the Church Calendar, and to Donate. When you give via
your Credit or Debit Card using the PayPal link, your donation goes directly to
our Bank. No checks or mail to handle, or travel needed to deposit, or mask needed
to protect our treasurer, financial secretary, or our bank personnel. It’s the
safest way. Thank you to everyone who is giving this way!
Be sure to explore the new Grace Notes blog. We’ve had some good
comments and people are finding it useful. On the right side, scroll down to
find some useful links, including our Mow and Trim volunteer schedule spreadsheet.
I offer these to you. The following pieces, Tenebrae Responsories, were composed by Tomas Victoria in circa 1585. The pieces are settings of the prayer hours, or, Liturgy of the Hours for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. They are a beautiful reflection with deep beauty as we journey through this week. I also offer them for deep listening as we remember and pray for our world. With Peace and Love, Ryan Keebaugh
