Dear Church,
We are in unprecedented times right now and it is unclear how long our lives and routines will be disrupted for the well being of our community, especially our most vulnerable population. We, as a church, are working to do our part to encourage people to stay at home and to keep social distancing as a priority, but we are also following the words of Hebrews 10:25 that tells us:
“let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”
In following this call, we will not have on campus gatherings for worship, meetings, Bible study or fellowship temporarily (we do not know yet how long), but we will offer opportunities for community and growth via Zoom, a video and telephone conference service. Online links to each meeting will be available as well as a call in number to be able to participate in community gatherings. We also encourage members to use this time to regularly check in on one another ensuring that no one falls through the cracks during this anxious time. We will get through this together, we will see the other side, and God will carry us every step of the way.
Important Things To Know:
The office will remain open, but with modified hours of 9:00am-1:00pm Monday through Thursday. Outside of these hours you can call or text Pastor Stacy. Contact the Church office for phone number and email address.
Worship Options:
We will live stream worship through a new YouTube channel beginning at 9:30am each Sunday. After worship finishes, the complete service video will be available through the You Tube channel and on our Facebook page. As usual, audio recordings will be available on the church website.
Bulletins of each service will be available on the church website by Thursday night of each week. These bulletins will include all prayers, scriptures and hymn lyrics for your personal time of worship, prayer and devotion.
Prayer Request:
Offering our prayers to God and praying for one another is even more important while we are unable to meet face to face. With this, you are invited to share your prayer request through email, text or phone call to Pastor Stacy. Prayer requests submitted by 9:15am on Sunday mornings will be lifted during online worship and all prayer requests will go out on our Prayer Warrior email blast.
Children and Youth Sunday School:
Sunday school packets will be available each week by Thursday evening on the church website. Packets can also be picked up in the church office on Thursdays if you would like printed copies and craft materials. Each week, Zoom calls will be hosted for youth, children and families at the following times (Becky will email out call instructions and information):
- Tween Scene (6th-12th Grade): Sundays from 11:00am-Noon
- Family Faithline (Youth and Children Families): Wednesday from 5:30-6:30pm
- Jungle Jam (K-2nd Grade Kids): Thursdays from 9:00-9:30am
- Deep Blue Dive (3rd-5th Grade Kids): Thursdays from 9:30-10:00am
Bible Study and Adult Groups:
Pastor Stacy has set up Zoom gatherings to be able to host Bible studies and meetings via video and phone call options beginning Tuesday, March 24th. Go to the church website for call information and instructions to log in, or ask Pastor Stacy for the email invitation.
- Tuesday morning Bible Study (continuing our Bible 101) from 10:00-11:00am
- Wednesday night Bible Study (Max Lucado’s He Chose the Nails) from 7:00-8:00pm
- Pastor Stacy has 6 workbooks available if you would like one.
- Thursday prayer and devotion time with Pastor Stacy from 10:00-11:00am
- Thursday Choir hosted by Antone (Prayer and Hymn Time) from 7:00-8:00pm
- Sunday Adult Class (using the sermon text from worship) from 11:00am-12:00pm
- Sunday Bible Study with Scott, Bill and Kirby from 7:00-8:00pm (Study TBD)
Stewardship:
These are trying times and we understand that there are those who are being financially strained by social distancing, but we are also still responsible for paying our bills and our staff during these times. If you are still able to give your pledges and gifts to the church we would be humbly grateful. Gifts can be given through our website, through the office and through the mail.
Fundraisers, including the Toberman Support Drive, are postponed until further notice.
Outreach Lunch:
It is important to care for those in our community who struggle to have enough food to eat, so we will continue to have our Outreach Lunch, but in a modified way.
We will be ordering food to be delivered and assembling sack lunches, but will not be preparing food on campus to respect the rules of social distancing.
Pastor Stacy will be coordinating this meal and is asking for no more than 10 volunteers to help assemble the sack lunches, to go boxes and to distribute them to people (we will not offer space for eating at this time). Please contact Pastor Stacy if you would like to help assemble, if you would be willing to provide needed items for the sack lunches or if you are willing to make a monetary donation to help cover the costs of this lunch.
Committee Meetings:
We will not be holding in person meetings at this time, but some committee chairs may need to meet via conference/video call or through email votes. Be watching for information from your committee chair.
Holy Week and Easter:
With an inability to predict the future or to know for sure how long we will be socially distancing ourselves, we do not yet know if we will be able to have in person worship during Holy Week or for Easter. If we are unable to meet in person, we will continue to have online worship opportunities, and we will have a delayed Easter celebration with all the bells and whistles on the first Sunday we are fully back together. We will communicate with you as we learn more.
Communication:
Our weekly email newsletter, our Facebook page and our website are our three main sources of communication as situations change and as we adapt our ministry as necessary. If you have not already done so, sign up for the weekly email blast through our website and follow our Facebook page. If you are unable to use any of these means, contact the church office and ask to be put on the phone list for communication.
Other Needs:
If there are other needs or ideas that you see the church can fill during this time, please let us know. We, as a church, are here to serve you and our community, and we openly invite ideas, suggestions and input from our members.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Stacy and the FUMC Torrance Staff