Dear Faith Lutheran family …
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Christ our Lord!
Please brace yourself as there is a lot to cover right now. … Thank you for your patience!
As I write this, we find ourselves four days into this grand experiment of practicing ministry and being in a faith community without being able to gather together.
To say that it feels strange is an understatement, but I am heartened that we are all in this together. ... In a surreal way, it’s comforting that we are all experiencing the same “strangeness.” ... It binds us together in a shared way.
But, at the same time, I write this in hope because over the last four days I’ve seen our faith family rally together, exhibiting a wonderful, joyous spirit that overcomes these physical boundaries that separate us.
Well, since the last time we “talked” there has been a lot that has happened. … So, let’s cover those things first, and then we will move onto the future.
LENTEN SERVICE:
Last night, Pastor Jill Steichen from our neighboring Comstock-Hoff Lutheran Parish joined me in a joint “Digital Lenten Service” that we broadcast live from our Faith Lutheran Sanctuary. Going into the event, I couldn’t have told you how it was going to go down.
But I can unequivocally say that the Spirit was indeed present, and she interjected an amazing holiness on the broadcast that is hard to describe in words! 🔥
As I write this update this morning, the video of that broadcast has been seen by 312 people, who viewed it a total 433 times! So obviously, we have a lot of people hungry for “church,” for connection and for the Word!
If you have not yet watched the video, you can find it on the Faith Lutheran Church’s Facebook page. … As I said yesterday, if you’re having trouble finding that, ask your children or grandchildren!
I want to express my gratitude to Pastor Jill for joining me on such late notice, to Mike Nelson and Veronica Nelson for providing the music for the service, and to Austin Erickson for being our producer and film crew all in one! … We couldn’t have pulled off last night’s service without any of them!
I also note that we learned some important lessons last night about sound and planning a digital service. And so we will incorporate what we learn into future services so that we get better as we continue in this experiment of providing digital services.
I will also note that as we get our feet under us, we’ll branch out to placing video on other platforms, such as Faith Lutheran’s YouTube channel. Stay tuned for more information on that.
COUNCIL MEETING:
Also, since we last we last “talked,” our church council met last night to discuss our plans moving forward. The meeting was held only to conduct the urgent business of planning our near future as a church. We will address all other business at the planned April council meeting.
It should also be noted that we will be hosting those future council meetings via video communication because of the urgency not to meet in groups and for the health of all. As leaders of the church, we want to be sure that we are practicing safe and healthy guidelines, and doing our part to slow the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, about our near future: At council last night, I pitched a plan to continue Sunday school, First Communion classes, Lenten services and Sunday services through digital means. And the council unanimously approved the plan.
Thankfully, we started down this road last August when we knew we needed video to supply recorded sermons to Pastor Jill for my internship. And so we are much further along than had we not done so.
So … just how is this going to work? … Well, let me explain!
FIRST COMMUNION CLASS:
We still have three First Communion classes to host before our three students will be ready for their milestone of First Communion.
We will be hosting those classes via a video conferencing platform called Zoom.
Each Wednesday at our designated class time, the three students and I will all log in. And we will participate in real time with each other, and we will cover the material I had previously planned to cover.
All of the First Communion families have been contacted and are on board! I am excited to return to teaching these classes, as they are an absolute treat!
The only hitch here, of course, is when will we celebrate these students’ First Communion. And, unfortunately, I do not have that answer. That awaits to be seen, but we will make a big deal out of it when we can!
SUNDAY SCHOOL:
We also are planning to host Sunday school classes in much the same way.
We will use the Zoom video conferencing tool, and host classes at 9 a.m. every Sunday on which they would have normally been held.
Our two teachers who were slated to teach the remaining Sundays through the end of the year have graciously signed on to continue to do so.
And there are parents of each of the students who were teachers this year so they can download the students’ lesson at home, and join in for the teaching session on Sundays.
I will continue to be as much a part of the Sunday school lesson as possible, and frankly, now that we won’t have in-person services at the church for the time being, I maybe will even be able to participate more in Sunday school.
All of the Sunday school parents have been contacted, and we’ll resume this Sunday with a lesson on “David and Goliath,” which I think is very appropriate for the time in which we are living.
We’ll share more news about our Sunday school sessions as we go along!
SUNDAY SERVICES:
If you’ve had a chance to view last night’s “Digital Lenten Service” you will have an idea as to how we will progress on Sundays.
Mike and Veronica have agreed to continue to provide us music during our digital services on Sundays. And Austin has agreed to help out as much as he is able.
But it is certain that our services will take on a different flavor than what we are used to. However, each of the team members is committed to making the best of our current situation. And last night's service showed that we can still create community in a digital place!
So what should you expect?
First, Lisa will continue to send out the weekly Bulletin via email to everyone who is on our newsletter email list.
Second, services will still begin at 10 a.m. every Sunday, but we will trim services to 30 minutes.
Third, we still will work through the Confession and Forgiveness, the Prayer of the Day, the readings, the Gospel, a short message and there will be time for music. And you will be able to follow along in your Bulletin that is emailed each week.
Fourth, these services will be as interactive as possible. And I celebrate that! … So in the days leading up to the service, feel free to message me any important announcements, prayer requests or even celebrations which you’d like me to share with the congregation during the digital service. And please, especially share those celebrations, as we need some positive news in our lives right now!
Lastly, I will just state the obvious: There is no playbook for what we are doing right now. So, we will experiment, figure out what works and what doesn’t, and we’ll get better at it as we progress. And we will trust in the Spirit to help us on this amazing new journey!
As we progress, please provide us your feedback and suggestions as to what would make our digital services make you feel drawn closer together to your faith family. Our services are about all of us!
LENTEN SERVICES:
Last night we experimented with a joint “Digital Lenten Service” with the Comstock-Hoff Lutheran Parish. I think it went better than I had ever dreamed it would! Thank you all who tuned in!
Pastor Jill and I have committed to doing the rest of our Lenten services in the same manner.
We will do them jointly. There will be music. There will be scripture. And there will be a central message each week.
But beyond that we will have to continue to see where the Spirit takes us because we don’t know ultimately what each of these services will look like.
I have to tell you though, I thoroughly enjoyed doing ministry alongside Pastor Jill last night. I think it was a beautiful holy moment!
There will be more information about each of these services each week.
STEWARDSHIP:
I also need to address a difficult but necessary topic: stewardship.
I can imagine that you understand that without gathering together, collecting an offering on Sundays is not an option right now.
However, there are still financial needs to operate a church. You get this: You have your own monthly bills, just as the church does.
And you are the only source of income for the church. Without your financial gifts, the church does not operate.
I’m prayerfully asking you to continue to give to Faith Lutheran so that we can continue our ministry to our entire faith family.
There are lots of ways you can continue to give.
The most effective way for everyone is to set up an electronic funds transfer (EFT). Some of our givers already do this, and it is quite effective. It ensures that the gift will be there for the church every month, and it’s less work for you. We will be sending out a form attached to this very same letter that will be emailed to everyone. Just fill out and mail it back to FLC.
If you are looking to make a one-time gift or prefer the flexibility of adjusting your contribution each week, one can mail in a contribution or drop them by the church (although the doors may be locked). Another great option is to use your online banking free Bill Pay feature that most checking accounts offer. Simply use FLC address of PO Box 175 Wolverton, MN 56594 and phone number of 218-995-2556 and your name as the payee account number and name on bill.
If you need any assistance on how to set up EFT payments or Bill Pay payments, please contact Lisa Miller at the church. She will gladly walk you through the process.
This is never an easy conversation, but I do prayerfully ask you to continue to give what you can so that Faith Lutheran stays vibrant and we can deliver the ministry needed by our congregation and community at this time.
LOVE ONE ANOTHER:
I know this note is long, and it’s taken a lot of your time, but I want to finish on this note.
These are difficult and challenging times for us all. There are situations that will make us all feel anxious. There will be a temptation to allow our fears to motivate us, rather than letting love drive us.
I implore you to side with love. … Love your family in this time, and be gracious to one another as we all get more and more crazy being cooped up.
However, just as importantly, I implore you to love your neighbor. … And the simple answer to the follow-up question is that: Everyone is our neighbor.
One of the most effective ways to relieve anxiety is to do for others. There are still ways to volunteer and make a difference in someone else’s life. … Do that. ... Do it as a family. ... Do it often. ... And do it with Jesus’s love.
My faith family: We are the church; not the building in which we gather. .. We can just as effectively be in communion with each other now as we always have been. But it will take work and sacrifice and love.
And so in these unprecedented times, I ask of you: Choose love. … Always choose love.
Blessings to you and your loved ones! . We’ll talk again soon! 🙏🔥💒❤️
Pastor D!
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