Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The consequences of postponing public worship are weighty, but we can be confident that God is sending us out for His glory. As David Stewart encouraged us last Sunday: God initiates and we follow, and the path of obedience is one which leads us to a place where Jesus is lifted up. I believe that the sacrifices of the present time are mile markers on that path.
For many of you, your attention and responsibilities have shifted significantly over the course of the past week–even dramatically in just a few days. But the work of mission is not over. Likewise, although Church of the Redeemer’s worship and fellowship look different, we, as faithful witnesses of Christ, still need nourishment from God’s Word and Sacraments. In order to equip you for the work God has given you to do next week, I am recommending the following ways for us to be fed and sent in the coming days:
Worship & Fellowship
- For individual and household worship, Family Prayer (p.67), or Morning & Evening Prayer (p.11, 41) in The Book of Common Prayer – 2019 are rich liturgical resources. Pray them at home, by phone, or by video conference with others. For musical worship, here’s a recording and lyrics of the hymn How Can I Keep From Singing. I’ll be sharing more recordings and music in the coming week.
- Our Bishop, Stewart Ruch, will preach from Psalm 46 by live video stream, 10 a.m., Sunday, March 15.
- Our Lenten Discipleship Groups provide excellent opportunities for small group worship and fellowship. On Saturday I celebrated Communion with our group leaders and shared reserved sacrament with them for distribution at this week’s Lenten Discipleship groups. The topic of this week’s session – Sacraments of the Gospel – is especially timely. Group leaders will reach out directly to regular attendees, but new attendees are welcome to join. A listing of meeting times, group facilitators, and hosts is linked here. Newcomers, please contact the group leader ahead of time to ensure that space is available.
- Morning Prayer and Eucharist will be held at the church this Wednesday, March 18, 7:30 a.m.
Prayer & Mission
- Tomorrow, join Archbishop Foley Beach and other Christians of our nation in prayer and fasting for deliverance from this pandemic. Click here to read Archbishop Foley’s call to prayer.
- Pray for the many health care professionals in our church body as they care for others in a time of heightened anxiety. Pray for educators and families whose lives have been affected by school closures and uncertainty. Click here to view a copy of Church of the Redeemer’s public prayer requests. Pray for Josh and Kalyn Lancette, who are trying to return home safely from travel overseas.
- Please contact me, Deacon Liz, or Deacon Dawn if you are in need of any kind: e.g. prayer, toilet paper, food, soap, financial need, etc. We will be assembling a care and mission team early next week to develop an action plan for needs that arise in and outside our church body.
- In order to continue supporting the mission of the church financially, you may send checks to the church’s P.O. Box 130965, St. Paul, MN 55113. If you wish to set up direct deposit from your bank account, please contact Sonia Keillor, our parish administrator. You may also give online by logging into your Breeze account. Sonia is also available to set up a Breeze account if you do not have one.
Plans for next Sunday and additional resources and guidance will be sent out in the coming week. God be with you all. I will miss seeing you this Sunday, but I’m thankful for these opportunities to form and express our unity in Christ Jesus in new ways. Though we are many we are one body, for we all share one bread.
Blessings in Christ,