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May 24 Memorial Day worship service
May 17 worship service
GPC Response to Covid-19 Corona Virus Crisis (April 27):
Pastors and Church leaders are always juggling the many
balls in the air that represent the concerns of a congregation. In Church and church work we are always
juggling time, problems, challenges, schedules and other matters. In this time of pandemic, we have had a lot
of balls in the air to juggle.
On behalf of the Session we want to commend everyone—members
and friends of the Greencastle Presbyterian Church, for your patience,
generosity and for showing the best of your faith and practice as disciples of
Jesus. You have come together and
although the church building is closed, the Church is open and at work in many
ways and places. Thanks too, for tuning
in to the Sunday worship services online and to the daily encouragement videos
on our Facebook page and are now available on our website without needed to
have a Facebook page.
So many have made and given away face-masks. The Deacons are
checking in with everyone in their care cells. The Food Pantry is meeting real
needs in the community. The Prayer Ministry is at work breathing God’s Spirit
into all of us. You have been faithful in your financial support. People are showing care in a myriad of ways
that GPC has a strong Christian presence in the community. Special thanks to our video production folks,
and our website masters, too. They are really good at juggling and getting
better each week!
In an online meeting with the Session (April 23rd)
we decided it is best to be patient and to wait a few extra weeks to hold
in-person services. Our tentative
date for a service in the building is June
7th at 10 am. We will not
be doing in person Sunday School until a later date. The Worship Committee will be working on a
plan for the safest ways to be together.
We understand, as you do, that the Covid-19 virus will not be going away
for some time. So, we must adjust to this reality. We will have to rethink
several things that are a normal part of our worship experience. We will release our plan within 2 weeks prior
to meeting for in-person worship.
We have several items that must be dealt with on our
calendar. However, we must first fix our opening date and then move forward. We
will likely hold our Annual Meeting on the first day we can worship in the
building. That meeting will follow worship. (The Annual Report is now available at the GPC office. You may call
ahead to pick one up or request a copy be mailed to you). Election of Elders and Deacons for the
respective classes will also be a part of the Annual Meeting’s agenda. We are proceeding with online confirmation
classes. But we will wait until we can safely gather to hold our Confirmation
Day service. We will also hold our
graduation Sunday and award the Matthew Anderson scholarship on a Sunday in the
building.
Unfortunately, Traveling Day Camp (TDC) and the trip to Camp
Krislund is canceled for this year. We hope to hold a special event for our
children later this summer. The Session
voted to not hold our annual “Lemonade On the Lawn” event this year. We are very hopeful to host this event in
2021. And, out of regard for everyone’s
safety and well-being, we will discontinue coffee hour (after each Sunday
morning service) until further notice. We will also announce a date for the
Moss Spring Cemetery clean-up once State officials deem it safe to gather for
such events.
Taylor Berdahl, our seminarian from United Lutheran Seminary
in Gettysburg, has been invited to a program call the Hein-Fry Bible Literacy
program. She will conduct her program: “Biblical
Literacy: Biblical Responses to Global Pandemic: Lament, Bodies, and
Breath." with GPC
online. She is looking for volunteers to
join her group. It will meet online for 3 consecutive Wednesdays (6:30-8 PM via
ZOOM) beginning May 13th. If
you would be interested in being a part of this group, please contact the
Church office by phone or email.
As you can see we are juggling quite a few issues. But, as a
Church, a part of the Body of Christ, you are demonstrating how the Spirit of
God is moving through us and making a difference. Of course, much patience is still required of
us. We are fighting the good fight and we will finish our race thankful to the
Lord who loves us and gives us strength!
The Greencastle Presbyterian Church Session
Rev. Dr. Robert Cook, Interim Pastor