Services

A Pastoral Letter from the Session of First Presbyterian Church

Dear Members and Friends of First Presbyterian:

At its November 17 meeting, the Session voted to suspend in-person worship beginning Sunday, November 29, until at least Sunday, January 17. We will hold in-person worship this Sunday, November 22, as planned. We regret the necessity of making this decision but after reviewing trends in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, especially in neighboring counties, we determined that this was the correct course to take. You will note that the suspension begins immediately after Thanksgiving and is planned to end two weeks into the new year. Predictions are that holiday related travel and gatherings may pose significant additional risk.

Our concern has always been the health and safety of each person in our worshiping community. We did not make this decision without thoughtful and prayerful consideration. We had no idea when 2020 began how COVID-19 would impact each of our lives and how our community of faith would be challenged. During the past 8 months, your pastors and elders have dealt with matters we never dreamt would be on our agenda. Your gracious and faithful support has meant much to us during this time. We thank you.

We will continue to provide our online worship services in the weeks to come as we have since the beginning of this pandemic. You are encouraged to continue to worship with us via Facebook or YouTube. Our small groups and committees may continue to meet under the protocols Session adopted and approved earlier.

We will remain diligent in monitoring the situation and reviewing the advice of health professionals. Our hopeful prayer is that vaccines will become available to many of us by January 17 and the holiday surge will be behind us. May that be the prayer we each pray.

God is with us and the Christ Child makes his way as Advent approaches. That is always our hope and assurance.

Care well for yourselves and for one another,

The Session

First Presbyterian Church

The Session has voted and we will resume in-person worship in our sanctuary this Sunday, October 18^th! A letter has been mailed which includes all of the details, but here are a few important facts:

·        In-person worship will be held at 10:00 AM on Sundays.

·        Ushers will be on hand to help us maintain social distancing.

·        Masks and social distancing will be required.

·        Hand sanitizer is available for use upon arriving and departing.

We will closely monitor the number of folks who attend to ensure we are observing appropriate social distancing. If our numbers exceed social distancing requirements, overflow seating will be available in Fellowship Hall, where we will live stream the service. We will be aware of our numbers and will move to two services if necessary.

Please do not feel obligated to attend in-person worship just because the doors are open! We want everyone to worship in the manner that best fits their needs. Online worship will continue as usual. If you feel uncomfortable attending in-person worship or if you are unable or prefer not to wear a mask, we encourage you to join us online. Of course, if you are not feeling well, please remain home for the safety and well-being of everyone.

We look forward to worshipping with you all, in-person and online, this Sunday, October 18^th!

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” Psalm 95:6

Join Us for “Carmunion” on World Communion Sunday, October 4, 6 o’clock in the evening. We’ll gather in the large parking lot and you may remain in your car or bring lawn chairs to sit outside. A brief service of scripture and prayer will provide our liturgy for the evening. The elements will be carefully prepared in a sanitized manner and delivered to each worshipper in individual containers.

Come gather at the table with Christians around the world.

We will be sharing communion during online worship that morning so gather your elements for “home communion.”

Don’t forget to gather your communion elements for communion this Sunday morning, October 4. We’ll celebrate the sacrament during our online service.

Join us on this World Communion Sunday.