Bishop's Zoom
Our Zoom meetings with Bishop Daniel and NWOS staff are now being held twice a month on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 4:00 pm. At our meeting on Tuesday, Bishop Daniel spoke of "Stages of Disaster" that have been identified as communities respond to traumatic, life-disrupting events that affect communities, regions, and nations, the current pandemic being a case in point. These stages are roughly similar to the stages of dying identified by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, e.g. denial, bargaining, acceptance, etc. The stages of disaster include:
- Pre-Disaster This includes the warnings which are often present giving communities time to prepare
- Impact The disaster itself.
- Heroism Stories of rescues, individuals going above and beyond the call of duty. ICU medical staff working long hours to care for Covid-19 patients, putting themselves at risk for infection is a good example.
- Community Cohesion Communities put aside differences and work together to address the needs created by the disaster.
- Disillusionment This word speaks for itself. We could say that this is the stage that we are currently in. Sometimes lasts up to one year anniversary of disaster.
- Reconstruction The creation of a new beginning. Usually starts beyond the first anniversary of the disaster.
Knowing these stages can help us, as leaders, as community members, to better navigate these difficult times.
The synod office always sends us follow up emails with links to the recording of the meeting, as well as resources, both mentioned in the meeting and otherwise of interest. You can view that email HERE. Some resources in that email you may want to check out include:
- Daily Bread Grants
- Prayer Walking Guide
- Participatory Asset Mapping
- Listening Audit
Parking Lot Confirmation
The weather was great for another outdoor confirmation session on Wednesday. We played some Four Square, after which we began our study of the Apostles' Creed. Our learning goals for this lesson are to:
- Discover how God becomes known to us
- Understand that God chooses to be revealed to us in order than we might believe
- Consider things in our own lives that discourage faith and those that help us believe
We talked about the difference between trying to discover God on our own, or allowing God to reveal God's self to us. We will explore in more detail in this Catechism Unit how God reveals God's self to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Thursday Morning Live!
Our Thursday morning Bible Study met at the regularly scheduled time of 10:00 to continue our study of the Book of Acts, prepared by Bishop Daniel. We had a new member join us this week by phone. Yes, you can do that. Zoom invites are sent out each week, usually late Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.
Worship and Music notes
The Worship and Music team met Thursday morning in Fellowship Hall following Thursday Morning Live. The team reviewed how worship is going in its various forms (YouTube, in-person, drive-thru Holy Communion), and discussed some future plans, which include:
- All Saints Sunday. This is the day we normally name and light a candle for those who have died during the previous All Saints Sunday. This year, I'd like to include a brief paragraph of each person, as we have not been able to have fully public funeral services for any since the pandemic discouraged large indoor gatherings.
- Advent Services -- we will not do Advent services this year. I will use those Wednesday evenings for additional Confirmation sessions.
- Christmas Worship. What will this look like this year? We started discussing this, and will continue to do so at our November meeting.
Preschool Spaghetti Dinner
St. John's Preschool is sponsoring a carry-out Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser on Sunday, November 15, from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. $10.
Nominating Committee
The Nomination Committee will be meeting to find candidates for the following positions:
- Property, 3-year term
- Education and Youth, 3-year term
- Fellowship, 3-year term
- Worship and Music, 3-year term
- Stewardship, 3-year term
- Secretary, one year term
- Vice-President, one year term
Some of those currently serving on committees are eligible to run for a second term. President and Treasurer will also be on the ballot, although Marc Lovins has agreed to run for President, and Shaun Smith for Treasurer.
Bishop's Fall Gatherings
Over the years, the Bishop's Fall Gatherings have been times for the Bishop to connect with congregations and members around the synod. There have usually been at least five regional gatherings on a Tuesday or Thursday evening in the weeks of October. The meetings feature worship and a special message from the bishop, including an introduction to the them for the coming year. Last fall we gathered at Faith in Fremont as we learned about the 2020 theme, "The Year of Mission."
Because of the pandemic, the Fall Gatherings will be on Zoom, and there will be several different dates and times. You will fin a complete schedule of the meetings along with the Zoom meeting invite info HERE. I encourage you to pick a date and time, and put it on your calendar.
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