Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We've already had a couple of special updates this week! Click here for news about our pastor-elect, Andrew Twietmeyer; click here for news about funeral arrangements for Sam Hilton.
In this email:
Worship and Education for Sunday, May 2
Breaking News
WORSHIP AND EDUCATION FOR SUNDAY, MAY 2
The Divine Service for Sunday, May 2nd will be led by Pastor James Blain; there will be two identical services at 8:30 and 11 am. The 11 am service will also be livestreamed at:
The home page of our website www.messiahgr.org
Our Facebook page www.facebook.com/messiahgr.
Please RSVP by calling or emailing the church office (616-363-2553, goodlans@messiahgr.org) or by clicking here to sign up. A reminder that these 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. Services will continue to be livestreamed as noted above.
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.
Those who are not medically able to tolerate a face mask are exempt from this requirement. We ask those who are medically exempt to wear a face covering to and from their seat in worship. (If you are not medically able to tolerate a face mask, face shields are an acceptable alternative.)
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.
Please maintain minimum 6-foot social distancing before, during and after services.
To assure social distancing during worship, we strongly encourage advance RSVPs for all services; sign-up options are available by phone, email and Internet (as above). 26 seating spots for families or individuals are available in the nave of the sanctuary for each service. Additional seating space is available in the choir area and the narthex. Generally, more seating is available for the 8:30 am service than at 11 am.
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.
Following announcements, dismissal by families will begin from the back of the church. Please continue to be mindful of social distancing as you greet others and exit. When weather permits, we encourage you to greet others outdoors!
Our Sunday education hour also continues on May 2 at 9:45 am with:
Sunday School for children in preschool through grade 2 in the downstairs classroom; Children will continue to learn how God Protects His People in Egypt and the Exodus.
The Sunday morning LifeLight class, The Time Between the Testaments, held in the upstairs classroom.
Adult Bible Class in the sanctuary, continuing our trek through the book of 1 John, the source of this Easter season's Epistle lessons. The focus for this week's lesson is "Test The Spirits/God's Love and Ours." Click here to read 1 John 4:1-21; click here for a study guide. This study will also be livestreamed on YouTube, the home page of our website and our Facebook page.
BREAKING NEWS
May Newsletter
Our May newsletter will be in the US mail tomorrow! Click here to preview or download it in its entirety.
Just a reminder that, due to drastic postage increases, this will be our final Messiah newsletter mailed out in bulk. Beginning with the June newsletter:
Paper copies of the newsletter will be available for members and guests at the Welcome Center. We will continue to mail the newsletter to homebound members.
We will also continue to post the newsletter and monthly calendars online at www.messiahgr.org/news. We'll include a direct link to each new online newsletter and calendars in the email update sent at the end of every month -- like we did this time!
If you are not currently able to attend worship (due to the pandemic or for other reasons) but want to continue receiving the newsletter, please contact Sandy Goodlander in the church office to make arrangements.
A Special Service, A Mission Festival and More!
This year our joint Ascension Day service with St. Peter Lutheran Church in Rockford returns, taking the form of two identical services:
Thursday, May 13th at 5 pm at Messiah
Thursday, May 13th at 7 pm at St. Peter
Rev. Jason Peterson will lead worship and preach. Following each service, Pastor Terry Hoese will talk about theSiberian Lutheran Mission Society’s "Save the Seminary" fund drive. A door offering will be taken to benefit this effort to spread Christ’s Gospel to the ends of the earth on both Ascension Day and Sunday, May 16th. (Gifts will be matched dollar for dollar up to $20,000.)
And there's more:"A Sunday Afternoon with Lutherans"on Sunday, May 16th at 6 pm, to be held at Herman’s Boy Coffee Ranch (220 Northland Dr NE in Rockford). No cost, but donations for the "Save the Seminary" drive are welcome. Call 616-866-1818 or click here to register for the event by this coming Wednesday, May 5th. There's a flyer in your church mailbox with more details!
As we worked on this coming Sunday's service, Pastor Blain reminded me that the ancient Latin name for this Sunday isCantate-- "O sing to the Lord a new song!" (Ps. 98:1a) is how the traditional Entrance Hymn for the day begins. One of the hymns we'll be singing, "O Sing to the Lord" (Lutheran Service Book 808), is based on Psalm 98 as well as Psalm 150; another, "Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen" (LSB 474) was the closing hymn for the Candidate Call Service at the Fort Wayne seminary this past Tuesday night. In Pastor Blain's words, "with the good news of Messiah receiving a pastoral candidate, what a great opportunity to sing our hearts out!"
Yours in Christ,
Rick Krueger, Parish Assistant
