by Senior Pastor Paul Jehle
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Dear Church Family:
As you are no doubt aware, Governor Baker has now extended his emergency declaration to include schools and houses of worship being closed until Monday, April 6, 2020. In keeping with this ruling as well as President Trump’s new guidelines that states no gathering should exceed 10 people, our church and school will continue to be closed at this point until Monday the 6th of April for public gatherings. Our church and school staff will meet periodically to coordinate our services but for the most part we will all be working from home. We do consider that spiritual guidance and direction, along with fellowship, is as critical in these days as physical care so we will be praying and connecting with as many as possible in whatever we are able to do in the present situation.
It is important during this time to rehearse the attributes of God such as his Sovereignty (Psalm 62:11), Power to protect (Psalm 91), and Wisdom (Proverbs 8:14). Spending more time at home than one is used to doing and without the distraction of sporting events or other programming, it is easy to simply watch the news on the Coronavirus and become depressed in the wake of dire predictions. The danger of the virus, plus the hype of the media, and the tendency for governments to seize control during a time of potential chaos, all must be balanced by an understanding of the sovereign control of the Lord (Psalm 2).
We urge each of you to increase your time in prayer and Bible reading. Attached is my article on the legacy of St. Patrick’s Day that might help focus our attention on the great work of God done during his lifetime that we have inherited as Americans.
We also urge you to continue thoroughly washing your hands for 20 seconds. In addition, refrain from handshakes, hugs and continue to keep proper distance from others (social distancing), especially if anyone shows symptoms of a cold or the flu (runny nose, fever or coughing). Make sure that you only go to where people are gathered for work and the food or drug store when necessary. Click HERE to see the guidelines from President Trump for the next 15 days as well.
The next two Sundays, March 22 and 29, we will be providing “audio church” where we will be on a large conference phone call at 10 AM. We will have worship, prayer and short messages from church leaders for the purpose of edification and mutual blessing. Continue calling and periodically checking on your neighbors to see how you might serve and bless them. We will soon give you more details about the next two Sundays, but keep in mind that all other regularly scheduled church events have been postponed until further notice.
May God bless each of you!
The Elders and Staff of The New Testament Church