April 30, 2020

Family,

Thank you to Charlene and Jerry Wolf for producing this print (I recognize that some of you will read it online) edition of the Transmitter. Even in this digital age, there is still value in communication that goes out via the U.S. Postal Service.

As many of you know, we are offering on-line services and studies everyday via Zoom. They can be accessed via our website, www.labcoakland.org. While on the website, please take a moment to sign-up for the Midweek Message, which we are currently sending daily.

These “new” ways of communication actually connect us in very significant ways to the history of our congregation in which creative communication, a willingness to embrace new forms of communication, is a hallmark. When Dr. George Phillips was the pastor, we were one of the first churches in the nation to use the radio to broadcast our services and even owned our own radio station. The name of this newsletter, The Transmitter, originated in those days.

When Dr. Harold Geistweit was the pastor, we produced some of the first religious television shows. One of them was titled “The Church In Thy House.”

Now, we are thinking about repurposing the Radio Room above the Sanctuary balcony to be the live-streaming room which will facilitate our ability to stream our services live when we return to the Sanctuary.

I appreciate your willingness to tolerate our mistakes and help us learn from them. In these difficult days I am grateful for your commitment to the ministry we share. Please be in touch about ways we can serve together and what forms of communication are working best for you.

Peace,
Jim H.