Response to Covid-19 virus

Response to Covid-19 virus

St. Paul UMC On-site Worship and Activities are suspended until further notice. 

I am writing with some action updates. After monitoring the evolving situation related to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, your St. Paul staff and church leadership met on March 17 to discern how to move forward in terms of church gatherings. In keeping with the recommendations from the CDC, as well as federal, state, and local governments, we have decided to suspend St. Paul on-site worship and activities until further notice. We will continue to monitor the situation on a daily basis and will communicate updates as we have them. It is our hope that we can gather together again in the house of the Lord sooner rather than later, but for now, we want to ensure the safety and well-being of our congregation, staff, and community. 

Office
The church office will be closed as well, but St. Paul staff will be checking emails and phone messages regularly, so feel free to reach out to us in those ways. Because things are changing so quickly, we will not distribute the Tower newsletter for April.

Events
We have also closed the church facility to all outside groups until further notice.
Our Portland Promise Center Dinner and Silent Auction has been cancelled for April 22. The event committee will continue to evaluate the current situation to determine alternatives and the possibility of rescheduling.

Support
Please continue to support one another and support St. Paul. Pledges and other offerings can be mailed to the church and will be processed on a weekly basis, as usual. Or you can make an offering via our e-giving option at the St. Paul website.

Worship & Resources
We will offer a Virtual Worship Service  via Facebook Live each Sunday for the duration of the church closure. Those virtual services will take place at 10:00 a.m. and will be recorded for later viewing on Facebook or at the church website. We have also compiled some resources for spiritual nourishment at our website. You can access these resources from the homepage.

Our Resilience Resources page offers a number of resources for helping children and youth cope with the uncertainties and stresses associated with the Covid-19 outbreak.

We need each other.
I want to end with something our board chair, Brad Matthews shared,

“I have been thinking lately about why St. Paul is so important to me and my family.  While we always enjoy seeing our friends on Sunday, Wednesday evening and at special church events, I am realizing more and more that I am in community with you even when we are apart.   Knowing that ninety plus family units were watching and participating as best they could in the live-streamed service last Sunday felt surprisingly special.  When times are good it is easy to overlook the personal connection we share as fellow Christians.   It is during the difficult times that we come to really appreciate the special love and concern that we have for each other.  I am praying for our collective safety and wellbeing and for finding new ways to share the St Paul love that is not bound by walls or physical proximity.   May we all feel the nearness of God during these challenging times.  Grace and Peace!!!!!  Brad Matthews”

Blessings,
Darren 

We will send an update next week about future worship services and events.
You can find the official statement on Coronavirus from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services at this website.  
https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dph/pages/covid19.aspx

Gracious God our protector;
By whose mercy the world turns safely into darknessAnd returns again to light:
We give into Your hands our unfinished tasks,
Our unsolved problems,
And our unfulfilled hopes;For You alone are our sure defence. 

Amen. 
(From Celtic Prayer Book)