A Message from Pastor Charlie, Pastor Jay, Terri Quick
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Do not fear, for I am with you,
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
-Isaiah 41:10
Grace, peace and mercy be multiplied to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
The message of the angels, the prophets and Jesus, himself, throughout scripture is important for us to hear in the midst of everything else we are hearing: Do not be afraid. God is with you. God is with us! We will get through this together.
This is the same message we shared eight months ago, in mid-March, when we shut down in-person worship. We have been able to open our doors again for worship in a safe manner, but over the last few weeks, the number of COVID cases have skyrocketed.
Montgomery County Health Department has issued a stay-at-home health advisory until mid-December for the county. Pastor Jay and I met with the Congregation Council officers Wednesday evening, and we all agree that what is best for the care and well-being of the congregation is to shut down in-person worship. As much as this is a difficult decision, and one we wish we didn’t have to make, we feel the call to do what is best for our neighbor is to shut back down.
Again, as I shared back in March, your pastors and staff continue to field questions you might have. We are keeping up with news from our health officials as well as the Southern Ohio Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for guidance and direction moving forward.
At Epiphany, “We Love Jesus by Serving Others.” As Bishop Eaton would say, while we should practice physical distance, with today’s technology we can still connect socially and compassionately. We encourage all Christians to put love of neighbor first.
Worship will continue to be online on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Starting November 29, we will be live streaming from the Far Hills Sanctuary. Thank you to our amazing Stream Team for putting things together, and all who gave to the streaming fund. We are excited about the upgrades to the technology.
We give thanks to God for you for your support of the ministry and mission of Epiphany. Your generosity has been amazing, and we thank you for that. We ask that you continue to support Epiphany through your regular giving.
We encourage you to reach out to your neighbor in safe ways. We invite you to participate in the Adopt A Family program as one way of carrying out our mission of loving others.
Hear again God’s word to us today: Do not be afraid.
God’s love is always with us. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have the gift and promise of new life. That is the promise of the Gospel. That is what we will continue to proclaim.
If you have any questions, please contact us.
Peace,