For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
March 11, 2020
Dear Black Forest Community Church:
Yesterday afternoon we were in an online Zoom conversation with 40+ ministers in the Rocky Mountain Conference discussing the recent outbreak of Coronavirus. Mandy and I shared some thoughts throughout the meeting. We’ve formulated some initial responses for our community in the Forest.
We will be communicating regularly throughout the next few weeks and months, but here are some of our initial thoughts.
At this point, we will not cancel Worship service on Sunday morning or Choir rehearsal on Wednesday evening. We also want you to know that both of these gatherings are optional. We want each of you to have personal agency throughout this time. We are currently working on ways to Livestream the worship service for viewing at home and ways to provide your gifts and offering from your smartphone.
You can access Sunday sermons at: https://www.blackforestcommunitychurch.org/vbs
We will follow the school district for any closing. If they close, we will close on Sunday. Keep your eyes peeled.
If the percentage of positive cases goes up in our region, we will defer to the health department for recommendations on closing as well.
We discourage personal travel to a level-3 country or state. If a person travels to a level-3 (over-seas) country or state, then we ask them to self-quarantine for a period of 14 days.
If a person has any signs of symptoms, (fever, cough and shortness of breath) they should self-quarantine for 14 days.
Worship will look different in the upcoming weeks: we will not be shaking hands, we will have antibacterial hand sanitizer available in the sanctuary, we will not pass the peace or pass the plate. Communion will be served separately. We will come up with creative ways to continue these important traditions and rituals.
We will not be serving food during fellowship and we will not have potlucks. Coffee and other drinks will be available. We will evaluate this important part of gathering together in a few weeks.
We thank all of you for the spirit of cooperation that we are sharing as we work through this time together. In a culture that is already so isolating and individualistic, we find it hard to write a letter like this. Our hope is that by taking some of these precautions now, we will be able to continue to gather on Sunday mornings. And, as the apostle Paul said so eloquently, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God.
In Grace,
Marta & Mandy