Reminder of Bishop's service
Our online worship leader and preacher this weekend will be Bishop Daniel. I will be sending out a congregational email on Saturday afternoon reminding and announcing this special online service, along with the links to view and download worship materials. Watch for that email on Saturday, and be sure to tune in. This will be recorded, not live, so it will be able to be viewed as soon as it is received. Or much later.
More Zoom this week
Five Zoom Meetings this week:
Met with my Pines retreat group to plan our spring retreat, which we will do by Zoom on Monday, April 27
Bishop Daniel's Tuesday afternoon Zoom with Synod Rostered Leaders. The theme of this meeting was financial concerns. In these times which challenge our congregations in many ways, including financially, Bishop Daniel encouraged us to:
- Believe in God's abundance
- Assess current reality
- Stay Connected to our congregational finance team
- Encourage generosity, especially by example.
We reviewed the various financial programs that are available from the federal government, and heard some special advice from Mike Ward from GSB Fundraising.
On Wednesday synod interim pastors met, led by Deacon Sherry Krieger
On Thursday there was a special hour long presentation by Mike Ward from GSB Fundraising. Mike is an ELCA pastor who consults with congregations to help them develop stewardship. I had heard him speak before, and has many helpful ideas and suggestions. You can read a summary of his presentation here, and an audio recording of his presentation here.
On Friday I met with my Interim Ministry Network support group -- our monthly meeting.
Hundreds tune in for Online Worship
Along with most other churches in Ohio and many other states, St. John's has been worshiping on YouTube since March 22, including Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter. YouTube records the number of views for each online session, which doesn't mean every view watches the full video. In fact, the average view time is about 8 minutes of a service that ranges from 35 - 45 minutes. Here is a summary of the number of views each service has received:
- March 22 - Fourth Sunday of Lent - 278
- March 29 - Fifth Sunday of Lent -156
- April 5 - Palm Sunday - 250
- April 9 - Maundy Thursday - 107
- April 10 - Good Friday - 82
- April 12 - Easter Sunday - 148
And hey, these online broadcasts of our worship aren't just just for St. John's members. I have shared the links on my personal Facebook page, which includes friends from Florida to Washington State. I have shared the link with a FB group of my high school classmates, some of whom expressed appreciation to have a service and message to listen to on Easter. I shared a link with the other homeowners in my condo association, and received several messages of thanks for sharing. My neighbor said, "My husband and I are not churchgoers, except for Christmas and Easter, but listening to your Easter service had me singing Christ he Lord is Risen today at the top of my lungs. I was afraid that you would hear me."
So yes, these are difficult times, but times when the gospel can be heard in new ways and by people who haven't heard the gospel in a while or even at all.
Special thanks to Heather who has been a great help, not only with technical stuff in getting us online
St. John's Preschool awaiting loan advance
St. John's Preschool has applied for benefits under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance program, one of several programs designed to provide relief for businesses closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The program is administered by the federal Small Business Administration. The program provides up to $1,000 per affected employee, up to $10,000, working through local lenders. St. John's has nine employees, and has applied for $9,000 in benefits. Although the program identifies as a loan, this advance will not have to be repaid. You can find more info here.
Still time to get some Hope pics to Heather
I'll copy and paste the message from our recent email:
Please join with us in creating a video of new hope. Consider sharing a picture of something around you showing a new beginning or hope for the future.
This video will be created to share on Facebook and via our email for next weekend. By sharing the photos with us, you are giving us permission to use the photo. No names will be included.
Please submit the photo by text to Heather Smith or email to stjohnschristed@gmail.com by noon on Saturday.
We look forward to seeing all the new hope around us!
Death of Pastor Fred Wiechers
Pastor Fred Wiechers, senior pastor at St. Peter in Norwalk from 1988 - 2012, and with whom I worked for 16.5 years, died on Easter Sunday, following a sudden onset of stage 4 cancer. Fred had beaten cancer two times before, once as a young adult (Hodgkins) and about 12 years ago (breast cancer). I penned this paragraph for my Facebook page, which some of you may have read already:
Very sad to hear this news. Fred was my ministry colleague at St. Peter from June 1995 until January 2012. I couldn't have asked for a better one. Much more than a colleague, he was a mentor and friend. Everything he did, he did exceedingly well. But especially ministry. His decades of preaching, teaching, leading and caring left indelible impressions on every one he touched. Well done, good and faithful servant! Rest eternal grant him O Lord, and let light perpetual shine on him.
You can read the obituary for Pastor Fred here.
2020 Synod Assembly Postponed
Received this message from the synod:
In light of the current health crisis and at the recommendation of ELCA Churchwide, the Northwestern Ohio Synod Council has decided to postpone this year’s Synod Assembly until 2021. There will be no assembly held this June.
Synod Council prayerfully and thoughtfully arrived at this decision by considering the following: While restrictions and guidelines appear to be easing, gatherings of large groups (like Assembly) are unlikely to be advisable by early June. There is no pressing business for this assembly (such as a bishop election).
At their upcoming May meeting, Synod Council will determine how best to move forward with nominations for expiring council and committee terms and will make an announcement at that time. They will also determine a date and location for the 2021 Synod Assembly.
Congregations that have already registered and paid for assembly may either treat this as a prepaid registration for the 2021 Assembly, or may request a refund by contacting assembly@nwos-elca.org.
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