I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Psalm 122:1 Dear members of Christ’s body at St. John’s Lutheran Church, The time has come to begin gathering together once again. The challenge of putting together a plan for returning to worship, however, is complicated by constantly changing recommendations and guidelines from every direction. What first looked like a brief hiatus and a quick return now shows every likelihood of extending for months with a slow and gradual return to something resembling our life together prior to the threat of Covid-19. While the governance of the church does not conduct itself in absolute obedience to the state, it also does not act in outright defiance of governing officials unless they specifically command Christians to transgress the Law of God. Therefore, I have taken the Illinois Governor’s 5-phase plan to reopen for business as a model for returning to public worship. This also provides a framework for our members to anticipate changes in public worship. While it is an imperfect solution, I have yet to find one that perfectly balances every need of every citizen. Together we will make our best effort to return to our spiritual lives while taking care to protect each other from infection. Our framework for public worship will be:
Where we are at right now
We are currently in Phase 2 and officials anticipate a move to Phase 3 beginning in June. Therefore, our scheduled services of Holy Communion will begin during the week of Pentecost (the first week of June). Announcing for Holy Communion The procedure for announcing your attendance for communion during Phases 2–4 will be to visit our website and fill out our online form: www.stjohnschicago.org/communion Or to call the church office during regular business hours: 773-736-1112 Throughout all phases of our return to public worship, we will observe the following precautions:
With these procedures, we look forward to our full life together once again. We pray that the Lord would grant us a speedy deliverance and joy at our return to His house. In Christ, under the cross, Pastor Ehrhard
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
BlogCategories
All
SearchArchives
February 2025
|