Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This update will cover:
Worship on Sunday, January 3
Building Use Reminder
January Newsletter Update
What Our True Love Gives to Us
Worship on Sunday, January 3
It was a blessing to gather once again for in-person worship on Christmas Eve, Christmas and January 27. We thank all those who attended in person or viewed our livestreams of these services.
Our worship services for Sunday, January 3, the 2nd Sunday after Christmas, will be led by Pastor James Blain; there will be two identical communion services at 8:30 and 11 am. (The 11 am service will also be livestreamed at www.tinyurl.com/messiahgryoutube.) Please RSVP for your choice of service by calling or emailing the church office (616-363-2553, goodlans@messiahgr), or by clicking here to sign up.
A reminder that the following precautions are currently in place for in-person worship:
Please exercise personal discernment when it comes to your health. If you are feeling sick, waiting for COVID-19 test results, in recommended quarantine or isolation from COVID-19 exposure, in a high-risk category, or not comfortable or ready to attend in person, please stay home.
You will be welcomed in person at the sanctuary door as you enter. All inner doors will be kept open.
To minimize potential spread of COVID-19 in this public setting, wearing of face coverings (fabric masks) are required at all services, from when you enter the building to when you leave. If you forget a face mask or don’t have one, please don’t let this keep you from attending; we will gladly provide you with one.
To assure social distancing during worship, advance RSVPs are required for all services. Sign-up options are available as above; 26 spots for families or individuals will be available in the nave of the sanctuary for each service.
Worshipers will sit on the opposite ends of alternate pews. Designated seating will be clearly marked for “8:30 (1st service)” or “11:00 (2nd service)”; other pew entrances will be roped off to assure social distancing.
After the first service of each two-service day, worshipers will leave through the side door of the narthex, using the classroom hallway and exiting the building through the exterior doors in the fellowship hall foyer.
Following announcements, dismissal by families will begin from the back of the church. Please maintain social distancing and, weather permitting, wait until you are outdoors to greet others.
If you want to receive Holy Communion, but do not feel comfortable attending these services, please call (734-645-4353) or email (revjpeterson@yahoo.com) our vacancy pastor, Rev. Jason Peterson, to make arrangements to receive the Lord's Supper by individual weekday appointment, either at the church, at home, or another location that meets your needs.
General guidelines for sanitation and other current practices (complete service bulletins, simplified giving of offerings, Holy Communion protocols, nursery and kitchen closures, restroom availability, post-service sanitizing) will remain in effect. Click here to see the full version of our current worship guidelines.
Building Use Reminder
Due to the extension of Michigan’s emergency epidemic order, Messiah’s building will continue to be closed through Friday, January 15 for all activities except worship services, preschool and essential functions that must be done onsite:
The restart of Sunday School and LifeLight classes has been postponed until the week of Sunday, January 17.
Preschool will resume in January following their Christmas break.
Board and committee meetings will be held remotely.
Staff and volunteers will only be onsite for basic operations (worship preparations and services, preschool sessions and preparations, financial work and recordkeeping, drop-offs for volunteer efforts, trustee projects, etc.) To contact staff members, please continue to call the church office; the phone will be answered remotely.
January Newsletter Update
Due to the Christmas and New Year holidays falling on Fridays this year, Messiah's January newsletter will be mailed during the first full week in January (the 4th-8th). We appreciate your patience with this slight delay, which will enable to include as much up-to-date information as possible. The newsletter will be sent via US mail and will also be available on our website; watch for direct links to it in next week's email update!
What Our True Love Gives to Us
We're now in the Twelve Days of Christmas -- either the 6th or the 5th day, depending on whether you count from December 25 or 26. And like the famous English folk carol (which a few scholars have speculated might have been a coded catechism song for persecuted Catholics), the Church's focus during these days is on gifts. But not on partridges, hens, geese, or even what you received this year from family, loved ones and friends. Rather, the Church focuses on God's gifts to us -- grace, mercy, faith, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life.
These are the gifts that Jesus won for us through His birth (celebrated on December 25), His circumcision (on the eighth day, celebrated on January 1) and His entire earthly life -- even His visit to the temple at 12 years old, the focus of this coming Sunday's Gospel! Our Savior's death and resurrection are also foreshadowed during the Twelve Days -- not just in the words of Simeon from Luke 2:22-32 that were read and sung this past Sunday, but also in the commemorations of the first martyr Stephen (on December 26 --see Acts 6-7), St. John the writer of the Fourth Gospel (on December 27) and the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem (on December 28 --see Matthew 2:16-18).
It may be that this Christmas, so different from previous years for many of us at Messiah, was challenging for you. And like many of you, I can't help but wonder what the new year of 2021 will bring. What I know by God's grace is that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:9). So I encourage each of you tocontinue growing in His Word, caring for each other, praying for those in authority, and keeping your eyes on our Lord, as we pray together:
Eternal God, we commit to Your mercy and forgiveness the year now ending, and commend to Your blessing and love the times yet to come. In the new year of 2021, abide among us with Your Holy Spirit that we may always trust in the saving name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Yours in Him,
Rick Krueger, Parish Assistant
