I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now the seasons are changing. The turkeys on Church Street are gone, and Christmas lights are up. In the life of the Church, we have stepped into the season of Advent, the weeks of preparation before Christmas.

As you saw on Sunday, other things have changed, too. After talking with church leadership, staff, and our local medical professionals, we have decided to temporarily pause indoor in-person worship. We have said from the beginning that we would allow our decisions to be guided by the data, and our current and projected COVID numbers indicate that we need to take a step back from large indoor gatherings for a while.

Advent is a season where we long to be together. But Advent is also a time of patience and expectant waiting. We have lots of great activities and volunteer opportunities prepared for this month – read about them below! We will continue opening our outside spaces for small groups. And of course we will continue worshiping online. Your church staff is actively monitoring the numbers, and we will be back in the Sanctuary and Dyer Hall again as soon as we safely can.

Although our ability to gather together is limited right now, we are all in this together. Together is the only way to make it through. Stay safe – you know how to do that. Be kind and patient – Jesus shows us how to do that. Stay connected to your friends, family, and Church – you’ll find ways to do that in this newsletter. Seasons change, and we will be back together soon.

Blessings,
Pastor Tommy