I want to take a moment to offer some comments about the current pandemic, its impact on our local church, as well as some specific things for us to consider in this season. As I’m sure you are all aware, the Governor of Washington issued a shelter-in-place order, and we are to all stay at home unless it is an essential activity. In addition to this, our local Bishop of the PNW Conference of the United Methodist Church has asked all of the regional United Methodist Churches to refrain from holding public worship services throughout the month of April. This means that no United Methodist Church in the Pacific Northwest will be holding a public worship service on Easter Sunday. While this is a challenging reality for many of us, myself included, I fundamentally believe that religious tradition does not take precedence over human compassion. While gatherings like Easter Sunday or small bible studies may have good intentions, they nevertheless create opportunities for the spread of a virus. One of the essential practices of the Methodist tradition is to “resist harm,” and I believe that by staying home and refraining from holding public worship services, we are limiting potential harm that could be done to others.
While we will not have the ability to meet in person over the coming weeks, there are still a variety of meaningful ways we can stay connected during this season:
Reach out to someone
This is a season where we are being given an invitation to be the church. Let me be clear: “The Church” is not a building, nor is it staff, or a leadership team. The Church is all of us together. In fact, the Bible takes it one step further by saying that not only are we the church; we are the “hands and feet” of Christ - that is, we are how Christ acts in the world. Or, if you were to flip the saying around, how we act in the world is how others will experience Christ.
I understand that we may not be able to leave our homes, and we may not be able to spend time in-person together, but we can still pick up a phone and call someone. We can still send an email or write a letter. I want to challenge every person who is reading this letter to choose one or two people that they can reach out to this week. What will this cost you? 20 minutes? The impact that we can have on the lives of others in this season is tremendous, and it begins with small acts of awareness and love.
Online Sermons & Sermon Discussion For the past several weeks, we have been offering a weekly online video sermon, and so many of you have shared with me how meaningful these messages have been to you. Until we are able to meet in person again, we will hold to this rhythm of posting a weekly online video sermon. I want to encourage each one of you to take some time each week, to watch these messages and then consider its application to your life. Even more, I would encourage you to share these videos with your friends, family members, or anyone else who you think could benefit from them.
For those who want to engage with the sermon content on a deeper level, we are offering an online sermon discussion group that will meet weekly to explore some of the sermon topics together. If you are interested in joining the sermon discussion group, click here to register.
Virtual Office Hours During this season of social distancing, both myself and Laurie Edwards (Director of Catalyst Ministry) are offering virtual office hours where you can drop in and say hello. Laurie’s office hours will be on Thursdays, and to sign up for a time with Laurie, click here. To sign up for a time to meet with me (Phil), click here. You’ll be prompted to choose an available time, and after signing up, you will receive an email with instructions for the video meeting. Both Laurie and my office hours will be hosted via ZOOM video calls. No need to download any specific app or program. When it’s time for your meeting, click the unique invite link you receive after registering.
Good Friday & Easter Sunday
While we will not be able to host in-person worship gatherings for Good Friday and Easter, we are planning to offer unique special online video service for both Holy Days. Both videos will be found on the “Sermons” page on our website. The Good Friday video will be guided mediation of poetry and images that lead us through a digital version of the traditional “Stations of the Cross.” Our Easter offering will be an exclusive video that combines both worship, prayer, and a message to help us celebrate Easter.
Lastly, until we return to a normal schedule, I will be sending out additional emails similar to this, that will be separate from our usual weekly newsletter. My letters will offer helpful reflections on this season for our church. For any specific information, registration links, dates, and important church information, please reference the weekly “What’s Happening” newsletter that comes out every Thursday.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the church office (Aya is working remotely!) or another staff member or myself via phone or email.
Please know that I am keeping you all in my prayers. Wash your hands, stay safe, and practice love for one another in this season.
And May Grace and Peace be with you all.
- Rev. Phil Antilla, Lead Pastor
Bellevue First United Methodist Church
