Rest eternal grant Marlene, O Lord
I went to Columbus this past Sunday afternoon to visit Marlene -- I had last seen her two weeks prior, the day before she had her first surgery. She looked very good then, and she was in good spirits. By the time I saw her again on March 8, she looked drawn and sounded tired, weak and defeated. I knew that our hopes to have her back on the bench for Palm Sunday and Easter would take a miracle. The miracle came in a different form. The Holy Communion we celebrated last Sunday transformed to Holy Communion with our Father in heaven. And Marlene and Ted are back together.
Nothing has been finalized yet, but tentatively we are planning on a Wednesday morning 10:30 am funeral service at the church. The family is meeting with the funeral home (Auxter's) on Sunday, but we're hoping that we can finalize the day soon. I will post the obituary on Facebook as soon as I know it's ready.
Lord, thank you for the life and witness of your servant, Marlene!
Upcoming fundraisers
We have two fundraiser approaching -- the Youth Gathering parents are planning a Casserole and Pie sale for March 29, and youth are planning a pecan roll sale to raise money for Dana and Brooke Baier's new personal care chair.
Midweek Lent
Our Lenten series on the Lord's Prayer had our second session with a look at the First and Second Petitions: Hallowed be thy name, and Thy Kingdom come. We will need to talk at Council about continuing our Lenten series -- Wednesday evening's session will be the day of Marlene's funeral -- and our numbers will already be down because confirmation youth are not expected to attend during spring break. I'm thinking that it may be advisable to cancel the balance of our Lenten services, but let's add that to our agenda for Tuesday.
Coronavirus
Yesterday, Governor Mike DeWine closed all schools in Ohio for the next three weeks. This closure will include include our preschool at St. John's. Governor DeWine's order included any public gathering of 100 or more, religious gatherings excepted. Still, many congregations have decided to cancel all activities including worship for the rest of March. We will move forward with worship this weekend, and I encouraged members in the email I sent earlier today to use their ownn discretion about whether they should attend this weekend. We will make adjustments, and avoid personal contact, including passing of the peace. We can discuss this more in detail at Council Tuesday evening, and come to a decision as to whether or not to cancel any future services. Synod office has send a page of resources for use by pastors and leaders, which you can read here.
I linked Bishop Daniel's pastoral letter regarding COVID-19, with lots of helpful information and links in my afternoon email. I'm posting the same link to that message here.
Preschool follows school closing
St. John's Preschool follows Bellevue Public school with regard to school closing, so like the rest of the district, we will have two extra weeks of no school. Mrs. Lilly will be working with parents, board and staff to manage the financial aspects of the closure.
What other congregations doing about COVID-19?
My pastoral colleagues have been sharing on the Northwestern Ohio Synod Rostered Ministers Facebook Group what they have decided regarding holding or canceling worship going forward. Here are some responses:
- St. Paul's downtown Toledo - all March activities including Sunday services cancelled
- Hope Toledo - proceeding with precautions
- Zoar Perrysburg - all services cancelled
- Williams County parish (Bryan and Edon) - proceeding with precautions
- Grace Castalia - Proceeding with precautions
- Trinity Sandusky - Proceeding with precautions
- St. Mark's Toledo - canceling but with internet streaming
- St. John's Williston - Proceeding with precautions
- Bethlehem Pemberville - canceling worship for remainder of March
Nursing home visits
I received telephone calls from the nursing homes in Bellevue informing me that all visitation has been suspended for the remainder of March and for April.
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