3/27/20 - Update on the Plan

Here’s the email Annette sent out.

"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4-6).

God's peace be yours in abundance, O saints of the Lord. We have much cause for rejoicing, in our peculiar Lenten way. Though our own human frailty and faithlessness are becoming increasingly obvious, the Lord's glory and mercy shine through all the more clearly. Jesus has taken our corrupted humanity away from us, with its sin, guilt, shame, and mortality. In exchange, he has given us his ability to stand before God and man whole, holy, and wholly unashamed, possessing earth and heaven and preparing for Christ to manifest the new creation in us and among us.

Pastor Wurm, the elders, and I met again last night to continue our prayerful discussion of how best to care for you, the saints whom God has entrusted into our care. Here are some of the things we are planning for the short-term:

*We will continue to have our regularly-scheduled worship services. They will continue to be live-streamed and not open to the public; it will be just the pastors, a pianist/organist, and perhaps someone to move the camera. We are not sure how long we will need to take these precautions, but you should assume that church services will be online only until you hear from us differently. And unfortunately, it will likely be this way through at least Holy Week and Easter. We mourn not being able to worship with you all together, and we yearn for our day of reunion when Christ assembles his body once more. A note on the video: if you're live-streaming a service and the video pauses or gets interrupted, just wait a minute. On our end, the camera beeps when this happens and it takes us about a minute to get it going again. If for some reason you aren't able to get it working, know that you can always watch the service afterward on our website https://mountcalvary1.org.

*In light of the increasing spread of COVID-19 within Brookings, we are making a few changes to our Communion practice. We will only schedule one service an hour, not two. We will only have one household participate in each service. We will ask that, if possible, you stand for the 10-15 minute service, touching neither pews nor the Communion rail. These changes will decrease the number of people we are able to commune, especially on Sundays, and so we ask that, as the weeks go on, you be considerate of other church members who likewise desire to commune on the Lord's day. We will also gladly offer Communion outside the posted time slots, whether at the church or in your own home; just give us a call/text to schedule it. We beg you, if you or someone in your house is not feeling well--even a little--your household should refrain from receiving Communion for the time being. If you are at a high risk of death or serious illness should you contract COVID-19, please contact us so we can come commune you in your home. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094fa5ad22a7ff2-small

*Because we are not able to distribute Christ's Word and Sacraments through our ordinary means, it is all the more vital that you engage in the Word on your own and with your family. Make daily use of your Bible and hymnal (you're welcome to borrow one from the church). Keep an eye on our website for morning devotions, example family devotions, messages from your pastor(s), and resources. Tune in to Main Street Living each Sunday morning on KDLT-NBC at 10:00am.

*We are recruiting help from some members to keep in contact with y'all. You can expect to regularly receive a call from someone to check in, see how you're doing and what you need, and encourage you with God's Word and prayer.

*For the time being, Annette will be working from home, so it would be best if you contact one of us via our cell phones or email:
Pastor Wurm: (605) 691-1885; pastorwurm@gmail.com
Pastor Bauer: (812) 431-5490; pastormicahbauer@gmail.com
Annette Streich: (605) 691-1320; mountcalvary@swiftel.net

Keep an eye on our website https://mountcalvary1.org.

The Lord's peace be with you, now and evermore.

 

In Christ,
Rev. Micah Bauer

Giving Options

Since we’re not having public worship services at the moment, we thought it pertinent to remind you of how you can continue giving to Mount Calvary. We just added an option to give online through Thrivent’s inFaith program. They allow us to receive donations fee-free from your checking/savings or debit/credit card. The only downside is that you cannot set up a recurring transaction through this service.

Head over to our Giving page to see your options.

If you are not a member of Mount Calvary but found out website through our online posts, please contribute to your local church instead.

Free Resource: Family Time Devotions

CPH has released a bunch of digital resources for free to help churches and families in this tumultuous, isolating time. Particularly useful for families is part of the book Family Time Devotions. This excellent resource makes it incredibly easy to do devotions with your children. Each lesson gives a paraphrase of a Bible story, a modern application, a discussion question, and a prayer. It’s very plug-and-play. I strongly encourage you to use it.

I asked Megan Olson to give us a demonstration going through the first lesson with her family.