When will we Gather Face-to Face Again?
As we begin to see a few rays of hope that society is beginning to re-open and that, perhaps, our lives will find their familiar rhythms once again, you may be starting to question when church as we have known it may return.
Neither the power of the gospel nor the purposes of God are thwarted in this time. There are daily reminders that God still reigns over all His creation and that His Spirit is moving among us. We continue to experience that personally as well as hear stories of the faithfulness of God in the lives of so many others.
We are overwhelmed at the generosity you have shown in this time. You have been so willing to share of both your time and your finances at a time when many are struggling and hurting. We continue to reach out to our community with the hope of the gospel and the care of physical provision we have always offered. We love partnering with you and so many others to see God glorified in this time.
Most of us are fully aware that the Church is not a meeting, a building, or a calendar of activities. We are a people for His own possession, called-out to demonstrate and share the goodness and the glory of God in the world in which we live. We are pleased so many have participated in online Sunday services, follow up Zoom groups, daily devotions and we are searching to offer more ways for you to connect with other Cedar Springers.
Recently, Governor Jay Inslee announced a four-phase plan to re-open the state of Washington and we wanted to inform you of our plans to reintroduce live gatherings at our building. As eager as we are to be back together for worship, we want to continue to show concern for those who are vulnerable and appropriately cautious. We are certainly listening to guidelines provided by federal and state health officials, but please know that we are also taking cues from Jesus who laid down his life for the good of others.
You will find a graphic attached explaining how each phase will affect how we gather as a church family. One of the values we highly treasure is the ability to live together in unity even in times of diversity of opinion. Please know that we are one church. As we take ‘next steps’ we are asking that you would use wisdom and discretion on whether or not the next step is appropriate for you. If it’s better for you to stay home and gather online, that’s wonderful. If you are able to join us at the building, that would be great as well.
We want to live in a way that reflects the love of Jesus toward each other. Some valuable principles that help guide us into these types of relationships can be found in Ephesians 4:1-3:
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
When we act in patience, humility, gentleness and love toward one another, putting their needs above our own, it demonstrates our eagerness to place the unity of the Body in high regard. This is part of the calling to which we’ve been called as sons and daughters of God.
The following are in response to a couple questions that may come to mind:
“WHEN WILL IN-PERSON GATHERINGS RESUME?”
As soon as it is reasonable and wise. While we expect our phased approach to open to line up with the phases that have been laid out by the government, everything hinges on the health of our community and the CDC’s recommendations. We want to be more cautious about how we reopen due to the size of our gatherings.
“WILL REGULAR ACTIVITIES LOOK DIFFERENT?”
While we expect our in-person gatherings to feel more “normal” when we reach Phase Four, like the rest of society, we expect that the way we interact with each other may look a little different for a while. We’re going to continue to modify the parts of our gatherings that required physical contact before (such as coffee and goodies, the meet and greet, and communion), and we’re doing everything we can to keep our facilities clean and safe.
Even if you see more face masks and hand sanitizer, when we gather together again in-person, we hope it will feel like coming home.
We want to thank you for your continued engagement with all the various aspects of life at Cedar Springs, and more importantly, with Jesus during this season. By the grace of God and the power of His Holy Spirit, we will come through this stronger and more effective at loving each other and serving this community!
With much love,
The Eldership Team
