Interim Update for February 5, 2020

Funeral for Hazel Orwig

The funeral for Hazel was on Tuesday at 10:00 am at the church. I heard many stories of the faithfulness and caring of Al and Hazel. Paul played the organ. There were about 20 present, almost all family.

Snow Removal

We had a bit of a challenge to get the parking lot cleared of snow for the the funeral on Tuesday. Preschool was closed so that was not an issue, but we really did need the job done for the funeral at 10:00, with funeral home arriving by about 8:30. Lenny had called Perry's but they were slammed with work, and since we're not contracted with them, they had other clients to do first. Lenny was able to find another plower at about 11:00 pm Monday evening, who got the job done early Tuesday morning. Thanks, Lenny! Also Chris Miller is runs the snowblower, and he as here Tuesday morning, so thanks Chris!

Synod Leaders Zoom Meeting

NWOS Synod Leaders met on Tuessday afternoon via Zoom at 4pm. Bishop Daniel arranged for Rev. Dr. Michael Beck, a United Methodist pastor who has worked extensively on creative ministry in the digital age. Bishop Daniel also briefly introduced his 2021 Bible study entitled Jerusalem offering, which ties in with the year's theme of generosity.

Death of Pastor Richard Moe

We learned this week of the death of Pastor Richard Moe, who served as pastor for 20 years at Trinity Lutheran Church (Kingsway), Fremont, Ohio, while also serving as chaplain at St. Francis Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Hospital in Green Springs, Ohio. From the obit: "Despite a serious physical handicap, Rich led a full and productive life, with the encouragement of supportive family and friends and good old Norwegian stubbornness." I can relate to that Norwegian comment. Rich was an inspiration. His physical handap required his waking hours be spent primarily in a wheelchair.

New Date for 2021 Synod Assembly

This message arrived today from NWOS:

During their January meeting, the Northwestern Ohio Synod Council voted to move the 2021 Synod Assembly to September 24-25, 2021 (originally June 11-12, 2021).

As vaccines continue to be dispersed and facilities explore what gatherings look like under Covid-19 protocols, we pray this date change will allow us to gather in person safely and confidently. However, synod staff will make contingency plans including (but not limited to) planning for a hybrid in-person/ remote assembly. We do not anticipate any further delay to the assembly date.

We are constantly monitoring and re-evaluating the situation, so stay tuned for the latest updates and information (including a location if applicable) for our 2021 Synod Assembly!

Confirmation Meeting

I met with confirmation and high school youth and parents in a Zoom meeting on Wednesday evening. We decided that confirmation youth would meet on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm in a Zoom meetin beginning next Wednesday, February 10. Meetings will continue throug February, March and April, with the Rite of Confirmation on the April 25th.

We also discussed reviving the plans to attend the ELCA Youth Gathering in Minneapolis. Originally scheduled for summer 2020, the Gathering was rescheduled to July 24-28, 2022. Want to know more about what happens at an ELCA Gathering? You can view an infomational video here.

Parochial Report

it is that time of year when it is necessary to complete What's called the congregational report which is sent to the Synod and then is shared with ELCA Churchwide. The report includes changes in membership numbers such as deaths baptisms, confirmations oh, and also Financial figures such as income and expenses and amounts sent in for Mission support.

The report was different in the attendance category in that it asked for both in-person attendance and online attendance. Ushers have always recorded in-person attendance in a spiral notebook kept in the church Lobby. So those figures have always been easy to gather. But how did you determine online attendance? YouTube tells you how many views you have for each live stream or upload, but then you have to take into consideration if there are more than one person's who are apart of each view. I did some research on the web, and determined that many congregations have estimated that each view equals 1.5 viewers, so that's the multiplier that I used to determine online attendance.

I put all these figures into a spreadsheet, which you can view HERE, and is summarized below.

• Attendance for 2020
• Average in-person attendance - 38
• Average online attendance - 89
• Total average attendance - 127
• 2019 average attendance: 115

Changes in Drive-Through Holy Communion

Those who participate in drive-thru Holy Communion will see a minor change in the procedure. I ask Kristen to replace the very small wafer on the top of the juice cup with a full size communion wafer inside the small plastic bag that we have been using to distribute the elements. I noticed that many people were struggling to find the small cellophane tab to pull up to uncover the wafer that is provided.

Coronavirus Vaccination

I have registered for a Covid-19 vaccination at fisher-titus. They called me back saying that they had received my application and will contact me as soon as do horses become available. Fisher-titus seemed like the best bet for me because that's where my primary care physician and all my medical records are. I could have registered at Erie County Health Department, but they seem to want too much personal information and put in my SS number.