FROM: Ministry & Oversight
TO: Winchester Friends attenders
DATE: March 28, 2020
The Ministry & Oversight met by video/phone conference this (Saturday) afternoon to discuss and confirm plans for our Meeting for upcoming Sundays. Despite strong wishes that we could gather for worship on Palm Sunday, the group felt it essential that we comply with the government’s “stay at home” directive which currently does not end until Tuesday April 7.
M&O agreed to meet remotely again in one week to review the advice/instruction coming out of the CDC and state authorities in this rapidly-changing crisis. The feeling of most, however, is that we will be instructed to continue social distancing throughout much of April, and that Easter Sunday may have to be observed at home rather than at the meetinghouse.
The members of M&O request, since we cannot gather in one place for worship tomorrow March 29 or on Palm Sunday April 5, that all the Friends of our congregation try to sit in a spirit of worship and prayer between 10 AM and 11 AM with the others in your household. While not gathered in one place, there is nothing to prevent us from gathering and being united in one Spirit despite being in different locations. Please spend the time pondering what we should learn from God through this current time of disruption and difficulty, thanking God for helping us to endure it and giving us meaningful work to do in the midst of it, and asking the Lord to watch over and protect our families, our faith community, our towns, state, and nation, and others around the world dealing with the same challenges we are. Ron has written a devotional essay this week that is attached to this email, also for your reflection.
M&O members also request that if you have or know of prayer concerns or needs that our church can help to address, please communicate those to your Care Group leader and/or the church office.
Just about everyone on TV these days is saying a version of “If we’ll all work together, we can help each other get through this.” The elders of your Meeting are committed to doing just that. You are in all our prayers.
Winchester Friends Ministry & Oversight
Cleo McFarland, clerk
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Winchester Friends Church winchesterfriends@juno.com
124 E Washington Winchester IN 47394 765-584-8276
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If you are interested in hearing previous sermons (starting with the first sermon on the Quaker Queries Series), please go to WEEKLY SERMONS.