Dear Servants of Christ,
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! A few days ago the above Psalm was my reading for the day. How encouraging it is to know the Lord hears and delivers us from our troubles. Yes, the righteous are not excluded from afflictions, but the Lord delivers!
First, let me say that I am so grateful to our emergency management team and their advanced warning of how this coronavirus would progress. Thanks to their careful planning I am happy to report that Servants continues to minister to one another and the community around us without interruption. We are blessed to have been using Facebook Live and Zoom conference calling for some time, and that plus other tools are keeping us connected. In addition, some are connecting with parishioners on their own within a given neighborhood. Wonderful ministry is happening as God makes opportunity.
Second, as I said in my sermon Sunday and in my last letter, it is crucial for our spiritual well-being that we find ways to connect to one another, even while sheltering in place in Alachua County. To that end, we will of course continue our Facebook Live services on Sunday mornings at 9:30. The city and county emergency plans allow for a team of ten people or less to gather. Thanks to David La Cagnina and Nikki Smith who are leading our online service team. I know that some of you had trouble staying on the Facebook Live Sunday. Most of this was a Facebook issue that we are hopeful will be fixed by this week. If you continue to have trouble please let Nikki know at nikki@servantsanglican.org. You may also want to wait and come back to the service after 11 am where you will still find the service available, just not in real time. If the problem persists, we may try loading the service on other social media platforms like Youtube.
Third, I know many of you are concerned with our most elderly parishioners because of their vulnerability to the virus. There is a team of people contacting them regularly and the good news is that all of them appear well at the moment. If you would be willing to volunteer to pick up groceries or other supplies for a family please let Tracy know at admin@servantsanglican.org. Also, I am planning a dial-in Evening Prayer service to which each of our older folks will be invited. The reality is that many of them don’t use the internet and therefore we are looking for ways to connect with them. Jody and I had an Evening Prayer call with Walter and Alice Crosby this last evening and it went well. Please email me at alex@servantsanglican.org if you know someone who would be interested in Evening Prayer by phone.
Fourth, I want to let you know that we will be offering teaching opportunities starting next week using Zoom. If you haven’t done so already I encourage you to download the app on your phone, laptop, tablet or PC. (This is a video conferencing application but you can choose not to use the camera. If you’re unfamiliar with Zoom, you can learn how to use it here.) Beginning March 30, Fr. Bob Ayres will begin a catechism class on Monday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. In addition, I will continue my 1 Corinthians class on Wednesday nights starting next week. To register for either or both classes, click here. Alternatively you can email Nikki Smith (nikki@servantsanglican.org) or Fr. Bob Ayres (bob@servantsanglican.org) to register.
Fifth, you may also want to take advantage of a Facebook version of Morning Prayer we will be offering during the week. As a start, we are going to make the Morning Prayer service available on Mondays and Wednesdays. You can watch any time on that day but we plan to have the video available by 7:30 am. I will read the liturgy and share a short 5-7 minute devotional thought for the day. I have been in conversation with Fr. David Allert at Christ the King Anglican Church in St. Augustine, and we may be able to share the responsibility and offer more times during the week. We will let you know when this starts.
Finally, let me reiterate what I have shared elsewhere. This is the very time when the Church shines brightest. We speak and live faith in Jesus Christ in the face of fear. Just today, I was able to join local pastors and lay people handing out food to the poor of our community. How will God use you to glorify His name in this time? Secondly, remember we are all walking through this season but we do not need to walk alone. Call on the Lord! Cry out to Him in faith. When you feel fearful, I encourage you to stop and pray to the Lord. If you need, call someone and ask them to pray for you. Your clergy, staff, and community group leaders are also available to pray with you. We don’t walk alone because we have the body of Christ, whether we are together or dispersed.
I encourage you to find one or more of the above opportunities to stay connected with the Body of Christ. I am particularly struck by how this time of crisis has made our liturgies taken on even greater meaning. You remain in my prayers as we walk together.
God bless you all,
