Dear Maranatha Family,
It has been quite a week, hasn't it?
As we all come to terms with the disruptions of day-to-day life caused by the spread of the coronavirus, the Council of Maranatha has been in dialogue about how we might respond to the recommendations of health officials and the State of Michigan as we consider our ministry here. In considering our response, we have sought to avoid both overreacting and under-responding. We hope we have achieved our objective, but in any case we ask that you receive our decisions with grace. We'll be the first to the first to acknowledge the variety of legitimate decisions that could be made during a time like this as well as the disappointment of having this aspect of life disrupted along with so many other aspects of life. That said, we trust that what has been decided as of now both honors the recommendations we are hearing and gives us space to find ways to carry on ministry creatively and faithfully in the midst of limitations.
Here, then, is where things stand right now:
We have decided to cancel both services for this coming Sunday. This is disappointing for a number of reasons, including the fact that we were to hear from the GEMS and Cadets on Sunday morning and from Joel Van Dyke Sunday evening. However, with the current emphasis on "social distancing", we think this is the prudent call to make for this week. We will plan to hear from our GEMS and Cadets on another Sunday and, hopefully, from Joel Van Dyke as well. Joel, unsurprisingly, has cancelled his trip to Michigan this weekend but is hoping to reschedule for later in the year.
I am hoping to organize a conversation with Council members early next week so that we might begin to think about the shape of ministry during this season. For the next several weeks, congregational ministry might well look different, but it will continue. We will keep you posted on what we will be encouraging as soon as we make decisions.
As for scheduled activities next week, we will send out an email on Monday morning with updates and recommendations.
On Sunday morning, our goal is to share with you a video by way of email and Facebook. This will not be a complete worship service. On it, though, I will say a few words to acknowledge these circumstances, share a couple of Scripture passages and some comments on them, and offer a prayer. We hope this will be one small way for us to be together this weekend "in spirit and in truth" if not in person.
This is our current update. As mentioned above, we will be sending out additional communications in the near future. If you have any questions, however, please do not hesitate to contact me (matt@maranatha-crc.com).
In addition to what has been written above, here are a couple of notes:
We will post the cancellations of Sunday's services on both WOOD-TV and WZZM to ensure that members not receiving email still learn about our decision to cancel. That said, if you know of individuals who do not receive these emails but would appreciate hearing this and future updates, please do call them to fill them in.
Be mindful of those who might be particularly lonely or resource-constrained during this time. A phone call to an isolated person could prove to be very encouraging. And if you're aware of somebody who is resource-constrained, please communicate that need if necessary and we'll see if there is a way for us to respond to that need.
Finally, it goes without saying, but we encourage you to be in constant prayer. Pray for the sick and grieving, for the lonely and afflicted, for our elected officials, for our health officials and health care workers, for our business leaders, for families, for anyone else who comes to mind, for healing...and for the glory of God through Jesus Christ to be made manifest even in the midst of these challenging times.
Grace to you and peace,
Pastor Matt