14 Mar UPDATE: A Note from Pastor Polly McWilliams About Covid-19
Update May 22, 2020
Dear Grace Faithful,
YOU are missed – hopefully you’re being safe at home. This week Your Church Council met and made some hard decisions. You should have received a letter, outlining our plans to go forward, in your email this week. Here is an excerpt.
“We will still have only 10am Zoom Worship for the near future UNTIL we have two full weeks of declining COVID-19 cases. … AFTER two full weeks of declining COVID-19 cases, we plan to begin having in-person Worship as well as Zoom Worship. … At 10am we will have an in-person Drive-In Worship in the parking lot and church yard. Members may stay in their vehicles, or bring lawn chairs, but also must practice “physical distancing.” You will be able to hear the music and message on your car radio. This also means families can sit with their own families, but we prefer you to physically-distance yourself from other families (at least 6-feet distance). Please stay home if you are feeling sick, or are not comfortable attending.
If we see the cases of COVID-19 … have increased, or inclement weather arises, we will notify everyone that 10am Worship is cancelled by sending an email, alerting you on Facebook, and by changing the church website to reflect the cancellation. Such a decision will be made by 7:30am on Sunday mornings so that all can plan accordingly. …
PLEASE ALSO NOTICE – we are not allowing people into the building, as we have done the last ten weeks. … we are not allowing any outside groups to use our building until we feel safe doing so. Should you need to enter our building for an on-going ministry, please let Dana Buchanan, Missy Schnarre, or Pastor Polly know. Please also plan to sanitize behind yourself when leaving the building. The only restroom we want you to use is the one in the office.”
IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE E-LETTER PLEASE ALERT ME AND I WILL RESEND IT.
Again, your Finance Team and Church Council are sending you a heartfelt “THANK YOU” to all who have given via the Give+Plus app, or mailed in, or dropped off your offering. Your support during this difficult time is a true blessing. It is good to keep our mission and ministry at the center of our life together.
In Christ’s Service Together and Sent with Love,
Pastor Polly McWilliams
Update May 15, 2020
Dear Grace Faithful,
YOU are missed – hopefully you’re being safe at home. This week I met with our MMS Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Ginny Brown Daniel, and many other clergy via Zoom. We got some news we weren’t excited to hear and you can read more about that in a bit. But one of the things we discovered in our conversation is that many of us are praying ‘Psalms of Lament.’ If you read Psalm 13 you can see a good example of what this means. For me, a psalm of lament means we are crying out to God asking for help. We are asking for help and maybe even begging for God to rescue us. It means we are responding to something out of our control by trusting in God in trust and maybe even offering praise for what we know can happen. I tell you this because this COVID-19 pandemic time has been really hard but ultimately God is with us. So in the coming weeks, please remain connected socially, even while you’re physically staying home safe in place. Pray often, be easy on yourself, and know I will be praying for you. I do hope you might pray for me, too.
I think this might be a good week to write our own Psalm of Lament. I’ve outlined Psalm 13 with a kind of formula for your reference and I encourage you to give it a try.
Psalm 13
1How long will you forget me, LORD? Forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2aHow long will I be left to my own wits, agony filling my heart? Daily? (This is how the psalmist feels when addressing God.)
2bHow long will my enemy keep defeating me? (This is the complaint or lament.)3Look at me! Answer me, LORD my God! Restore sight to my eyes!
Otherwise, I’ll sleep the sleep of death, 4and my enemy will say, “I won!” My foes will rejoice over my downfall. (These verses are asking / begging for God’s help.)
5But I have trusted in your faithful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. 6Yes, I will sing to the LORD because he has been good to me. (These verses verbalize the psalmist’s trust in God while offering praise for what has happened in the past.)
I mentioned above what was discussed with our conference minister and here is a snippet of what we discussed that was sent in this week’s E-Courier:
“Conference Staff are willing to meet with Churches Virtually Until August 1st. Out of safety precautions for all MMS Conference staff and Churches, the Personnel Committee and Ginny have required that all worship and meetings with Conference staff will be virtual until August 1. If your Church would like one of our staff members to attend or lead worship this summer, we are more than happy to do so virtually and/or record a video of greetings. We are also happy to meet with your committees via zoom during this time so that we can continue to support and equip you with the resources you need during this time.”
Your Church Council will meet soon to discuss and make some decisions for us at Grace. All the conference ministers, along with our national office, have given us some guidelines that will help to inform us. Please continue praying that we can get a grasp on this COVID-19 pandemic. It has been difficult being apart but it feels like the most faithful thing we can do.
Your Finance Team and Church Council are sending you a heartfelt “THANK YOU” to all who have given via the GivePlus app, or mailed in or dropped off your offering. Your support during this difficult time is a true blessing. It is good to keep our mission and ministry at the center of our life together.
Finally, this promises to be a better weather week, so I would love to come by for a ‘Yard or a Driveway Visit.’ If you’d care for a visit, please text, email, or call me by Sunday evening no later than 9p as I will finish my schedule then. I will call or text you with the day and approximate time before I leave. I will contact you when I am close to your home. I will bring my own lawn chair to sit in the yard. I can’t wait to see you and pray with you.
In Christ’s Service with You and Always with Love,
Pastor Polly
Previous Update:
Please read this letter dated April 23, 2020 from our Missouri Mid-South Conference Minister Rev. Dr. Ginny Brown-Daniel.
Easter Greetings, Missouri Mid-South Conference.
As your Conference Minister, I write to strongly suggest that the Churches of the Missouri Mid- South Conference continue online worship and ministry until June 1, 2020. I offer the following to explain my recommendation in greater detail.
Theological Grounding: I am reminded of the psalmist who prayed, “How long, O God?” in the midst of the exile of the Israelites. They yearned to go home but were forced into exile for 50 years. They wrestled with the shift of God’s presence (from temple to the tent amongst their exile). They wrestled with their unknown question of how long they would remain in exile. My friends, many of us in the past few days have prayerfully asked this same question about how long we need to remain in quarantine and be the Church while observing physical distance for the health of all.
Current Status: The governors of Arkansas, Memphis, and Missouri, are encouraging faith communities to worship in person starting May 1. Interestingly, they have also cancelled school for the remainder of the school year. One could ask why faith communities are allowed to gather in-person when schools are not. Our question as Church leaders must be, “When is the best time for our members, neighbors, and community to return to in-person Church events?”
I recommend that the Churches of the Missouri Mid-South Conference continue online worship and ministry until June 1, 2020.
As we, the Church, prayerfully consider how long we will be in this pandemic exile, please know that I am here to support you. This guideline should not replace the difficult decision your Church Pastor and leadership must make in these upcoming days and weeks. Instead, it should offer prompting questions for your consideration. I trust the Holy Spirit will guide all of us in this time. If you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to contact me at 832-326-3582 or ginny@mmsucc.org.
Blessings, Rev. Dr. Ginny Brown Daniel
When we are safe to worship together again, my hope is that we can create a prayer wall in our Sanctuary. It will be a beautiful collection of prayers we can put together. You can do this by cutting watercolor paper, cardstock, or other paper into pieces of different sizes and shapes. Using thin permanent markers, write who or what you are praying for. Then hold them in prayer in your heart while you watercolor or lightly color the entire page. Should anxiety or fear creep into your heart from listening to the news, go to your wall and add another prayer to it. Spend a little time at your prayer wall each day.
Please put your pieces together in such a way that you can bring it to church when we can Worship together again. My hope is that eventually we will be able to form a huge prayer wall with all of these prayers and then add to it all summer long. Maybe you can use the hearts included as a separate document for your prayer wall – it you care to.
In Christ’s Service Together and Sent with Love, Pastor Polly McWilliams
Original Message:
Greetings of Good Health in Christ’s Name to you! Please read the following letter from the Rev. Dr. Ginny Brown Daniel.
“To All Churches of the Missouri Mid-South Conference of the United Church of Christ: As your Conference Minister, I strongly urge all churches to consider not worshiping in person this Sunday. I know each church governs itself and I technically can’t tell you what to do however, these are extremely unique days and we have been counseled by the CDC and World Health Organization to keep our distance for the health of our neighbors.
As your Pastor and Church leaders discern what is best for your Church, please support them in the following ways:
1. Stay home on Sunday and worship from home with devotional materials
2. Pray for your Church, community, nation, and world in this challenging time.
3. Call homebound or ailing members to show your love during this time.
4. Write a check for your weekly offering and mail it to your local Church.
This indeed is not a time to panic, and it is a time to embody how we are called to love our neighbor by worshiping at home, calling our members, and sending our offering so that the Church can continue to do its ministry for such a time as this.
Here is my prayer for you: Loving God, you call us to love our neighbors, and as much as we wish we could worship together in person this Sunday, we pray that you would bless us as we all worship from home. We especially pray for those most vulnerable as well as our medical and elected leaders that they will wisely lead us through this pandemic. As Christ taught us how to love in the midst of challenging times, let us follow his ways with care and safety for all in this time as well. In your name we pray, Amen.
I will hold a zoom call on Tuesday, March 17 at 9 am for all ministers and members of the Missouri Mid-South Conference to listen to your concerns, share resources, and pray with one another.
Blessings, Ginny”
Yesterday (Friday, March 13), President Trump declared COVID-19 (better known as the Coronavirus) to be a pandemic and our country is in a state of emergency. You, like your Council President and pastor, are probably wondering what is changing or needs to change in our efforts to avoid the preventable spread of contagious diseases. As you’re aware, if you’ve been present in worship, last Sunday or Wednesday, we have been taking common-sense measures recommended by church and health experts to lessen the spread of disease among us – while maintaining as much as possible the practices of our life together. Due to both the wide cancellation of many public events and the rapidly changing situation, we plan to cancel worship until Palm Sunday, 5 April. We do not do this lightly. Your music minister and pastor will put together a meditation to send to your email address and to your cell phones for these Sundays. Additionally, no meetings will occur. On Palm Sunday we will revamp our worship since there will be no choir practice or Sunday School practice.
In the event that this state of emergency changes we will gather again. With this being said, we understand that you will be bombarded with information from other sources and will try to keep only pertinent emails and a Wednesday plus Sunday devotion sent to you.
Your pastor is still available for prayer, pastoral care or comfort, or even if you want check in or talk – in the event of the feeling stir-crazy. We strongly advise and hope you will self-quarantine. It would be good to use your phones to call each other and check in but PLEASE stay home.
In Hope we are Praying and Sending You Love,
Pastor Polly McWilliams
Dana Buchanan, Council President
Real Talk: Corona Virus COVID-19
The best way to prevent Corona Virus is to WASH YOUR HANDS! Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds (the time it takes to sing the Happy Birthday song twice) frequently with warm soap and water, and dry with paper towel or clean towel. Masks DO NOT help prevent Corona Virus.
Don’t Panic! Remember your Neighbors! Most people (80%) who get Corona Virus will not get very sick. Remember to check on your at-risk loved ones and elders.
Avoid Large Crowds as Much as Possible Avoid crowds and public spaces if possible. If you live with other people, remember that Corona Virus is usually caught by someone within 6 feet of you.
Stay Informed! Get your health information from a reliable source. There is a lot of misinformation out there. Do not apply bleach spray, chlorine, or garlic spray onto your skin.will not help prevent Corona Virus and can be dangerous. A good, reliable source is cdc.gov.
What to Do IF You Get Sick:
Cough and Sneeze into your Inner Elbow! This helps prevent your spit droplets from spreading, which is how Corona Virus is transmitted. Then, call your healthcare provider (don’t just show up) to explain your symptoms and get advice. If you don’t have a healthcare provider, see the resources below. In general, do not go to the ER unless you are having a severe or life-threatening emergency.
Corona Virus Hotlines
Missouri Hotline: (877) 435-8411 24 hours a day
St. Louis Hotline: (314) 657-1499 – Mon-Fri 8-5pm
If you don’t have a healthcare provider, these groups provide healthcare for people who are low income or uninsured:
Affinia Healthcare Appt. Line: 314-814-8700
CHIPS Health Center: 314- 652-9231 x10
Care STL: (314) 633-6363
People’s Clinic: (314) 367-7848
Family Care Health Centers: Southside: 314-353-5190 Northside:314-531-5444