Dear Maranatha Family,
The LORD is our shepherd, we shall not want.
He makes us lie down in green pastures, he leads us beside quiet waters, he restores our soul.
He guides us in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil.
For you are with us.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort us.
You prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies.
You anoint our heads with oil; our cups overflow!
Surely your goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives,
and we will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
The more things change, at least this testimony stays the same--because the LORD never changes. Thanks be to God. As you continue to adapt to a very different rhythm of life in almost every respect, be sure to pause to reflect on the Lord's gracious presence with you. He is our Rock--and the Good Shepherd.
And, the Lord Jesus continues to guide and strengthen his people--the Church--even now. As he said, "I am with you always." Those are assuring words that he spoke to instill confidence in us. So let's be confident in the Lord. The Lord will see us through.
We've seen together how the Lord has proved faithful in many different and challenging circumstances, and that will prove true in this, too. In fact, I suspect that with me, in at least some way, you've been able to see the Lord's faithfulness already in this. One of the ways I've been blessed to see this has been the way Maranatha's Council has rallied together over several emails to chart an initial path for Maranatha during this time. To be sure, the path itself does not feel very satisfying given that our ability to be together has been so severely restricted, but Council members have been generously collaborative and virtually of one mind in making a number of decisions in recent days. That is a gift for which I am thankful.
And that brings me to the main purpose of this message, namely, to communicate to you a number of updates on our shared ministry at Maranatha. So without further ado, here goes.
Sunday Worship. In light of current recommendations from the CDC, we have cancelled all worship services (including 2.42 Groups) through April 5. Given the current outlook, we may well have to extend this, but not going beyond April 5 at this point allows us to at least take a look at things before Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. During these Sundays we are away from each other, we will continue to send out resources for worshiping in your homes. Stay tuned.
Maranatha Events and Programming. With one exception (see next), ALL activities and events are cancelled until further notice. With the CDC's current recommendation that we limit our going out and avoid gatherings of 10 or more people, this decision simply removes ambiguity. As with worship, we truly hope to be able to make plans for in-person activities sooner rather than later.
Grace Space. In light of the anticipation that the need for household goods will only increase during this time, we have agreed that it would be good to keep Grace Space operating as long as we have an adequate inventory of products. However, given our current practice of "social distancing," we have made modifications. In sum, Grace Space will essentially become a "curbside pick-up" service. As Tammy schedules guests, she will take orders over the phone, box them up before guests arrive, and then either bring them to vehicles or have guests pick up boxes from tables outside. In light of this streamlined service, we will not need volunteers during this time. HOWEVER, if you are still able to donate products for Grace Space, that would be most welcome. We expect the church building to be open during regular office hours; otherwise you could coordinate a drop-off time with Tammy, Amber, or me.
Material Needs. It should go without saying, but if you find yourself--or if you know somebody--in need of anything due to supply shortages or reduced income or both, please do not hesitate to contact the office or a Deacon (Larry Bredeway, Edith Hemmeke, Chris Larson, Lori LeFebre, Mark Michmerhuizen, Gary Wolters). There is no shame in asking for help. We are in this together. We will do our best to provide for each other's needs.
Spiritual/Emotional Support. Once again, it should go without saying, but if you--or somebody you know--could use some encouragement or guidance during this time, please do not hesitate to contact me or an Elder (Jeremy Baas, John Dykstra, Steve Groen, Matt Klinkman, Dale Rosema, Bob Schippers). There is no shame in acknowledging concern, anxiety, discouragement, confusion, etc. We are in this together. We will do our best to provide for each other's needs.
Connect, Connect, Connect! Ok. So we can't be together in person very much right now. But let's not lose track of each other! Connect on FaceBook. Call each other. Send emails. And cards. Write a letter, put a stamp on it, and mail it! Some of this will happen naturally, without even thinking about it, which is great. But who might especially welcome a phone call or a card? Or how might this season be an invitation to connect with a person you don't know very well? A quick email to that "stranger across the aisle" might just result in a new "pen pal"...and maybe a lifelong friend.
Serve? What might serving look like during a season of "social distancing"? We'll have to get creative, to be sure. And some of us will be able to serve less if it's more prudent for us to stay home or if we are now caring for additional children at home--and that's perfectly understandable. But perhaps you need to run to the store and you'd be more than happy to shop for somebody who can't get out. Or perhaps you plan to make a lasagna but decide to make two because you want to deliver one to somebody else. Or perhaps you can provide transportation. Or perhaps you can fix a leaky faucet. Or perhaps you could...? You catch my drift. If you would be willing to serve in one of these ways or in some other way--or if you have a need to be served in one of these ways or in some other way--please say so. Let's get this off the ground by funneling these communications to Amber, and we'll see where this goes.
Office Hours. For now our goal is to have somebody in the office during all posted office hours (Monday, 8:30-12:30; Wednesday, 8:30-3:00; Thursday, 8:30-4:00; Friday, 8:30-12:30). If we expect significant deviations from that, we will communicate to you accordingly. And of course, if you plan to stop in but want to verify that the building will be open before heading over, simply call ahead of time to confirm.
Offerings. And then there's this. We fully recognize that the economic outlook has changed significantly in the last week and that many of us are facing the possibility of--and perhaps already experiencing the reality of--reduced hours and income. So we ask this with great sensitivity, but we need to ask: In light of the fact that Maranatha has ongoing expenses and financial obligations, if you are able, would you be willing to mail your offerings to church for the time being? Or, if you give by way of cash rather than check, would you be willing to coordinate your giving with the office or a Deacon? In either case, if you are willing and able to give during this time, please designate if you would like your offering to support the General Fund, the Benevolence Fund, or Faith Promise (keeping in mind that you could designate funds to support more than one cause with each offering, and keeping in mind that, generally speaking, the General Fund requires a greater number of dollars than either of the other two causes). Thank you for considering this. As time goes on we will be sure to update this request as needed.
That is enough for now, but hopefully that gives us all enough of an overview for what our shared life at Maranatha will look like for the time being. It isn't what any of us truly want, of course, but the Lord will see us through and, we trust, in due time allow us to gather as we are accustomed to doing. Until then, we will be sure to stay in contact with additional updates. And if you have any questions about what ministry looks like now--or ideas for what ministry could look like now--please do not hesitate to contact me.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Matt
