Saturday, June 27
All,
I trust that you will benefit, as I did, from these letters.
jh
Dear Pastor Hopkins,
We must have been on the same wave length. I had planned to share with you some ideas that could be used to help congregational members remain in touch with other.
- Members can call at least 3 persons once a week to say hello or obtain any information that will break the boredom of sheltering. Call more than 3.
- Send a card with happy thoughts or biblical verses.
- Read an inspirational poem.
- Sing a hymn if you like to sing with person or not.
- Send a happy message by iPhone with emojis.
- Assign a TV show to watch then share when you call next to talk about it.
- Offer to send a meal to them by messenger or call in advance to let them know what time to expect the meal and leave it at the front door.
- Send a small bouquet of flowers for birthday or any other day.
- Be sure to contact all widows who live alone and are not able to attend church.
- For members who are healthy, offer to run an errand to the store, post office or pharmacy.
Whatever you do, call and share the joy to help members know they are remembered even though we are not together physically but spiritually. Spend at least 5 minutes or more to share .
Sylvia Taylor-Smith
Hello Lakeshore Family,
Just wanted to touch base with you all after a long break. I had hoped to have Rev Dan Damon and Rev Carolyn Winfrey Gillette work with us in person in the Spring, but Covid 19 changed many things. Initially I had hoped to reschedule everything for the fall, but that looks unlikely as well. Our Creating worship learning project will really be shifting online in various ways. I am in conversation with Rev Dan Damon, Rev Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, Rev. Dr. Nancy Hall and a few others about sharing with us online this summer and fall.
We also have an opportunity to take some college level online courses this summer! Calvin College and Seminary are offering 20 three-week courses that they created in light of the pandemic. The audit rate is only $104 (seminary) and $200 (college) so they are discounted from the “for credit” rate.
I spoke with the Vital Worship Grants people about whether it might be possible for us to revise our budget and project for folks at Lakeshore to take some of the courses relevant to Lakeshore’s worship project. As a reminder, our project focuses on continuing to learn to create truly intergenerational worship and create worship resources that help us celebrate our ministries of Feeding the Poor, Welcoming the Stranger, Loving our Neighbors and seeing that we are Equal in God’s Eyes. The twist is that we are now worshiping in a virtual world. These are the courses I proposed to them:
Praying the Psalms in Ministry
Missional Engagement with Local Communities
Embodied Disciplement in a World that Has Gone Virtual
Children, Family and Intergenerational Ministries
Faithful Anti-Racism in a Time of Pandemic
The Changing Shape of Incarceration and Restorative Justice
The Changing Dynamics of Life for Generations X, Y and Z
The Challenge of Technology and Christian Education
Here is the link to a full description of all the classes. They offer three summer sessions, so some classes have already begun:
I hope to take two, the class on Faithful Anti-Racism in the Time of Pandemic as well as the class on Praying the Psalms in Ministry.
The class work is done on our own time schedule within the three week period, so the hours are flexible. Some classes are only offered once, but some, like the Mindfulness course are offered several times. Would you consider taking a course, and sharing what you learn with Lakeshore in follow up Zoom meeting? I am happy to work with you before the meeting to make sure you are well organized to share what you learned.
Ideally, we will have different people taking different courses, but if up to two people want to take the same course, that would still work. Funds are limited, so please check the course schedule and let me know as soon as possible. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Looking forward to continuing to learn more about worship, with all of you!
Sincerely,
Sandra Lee
A Time For Prayer gathers this morning at 10:00.
Please send your concerns and celebrations to Pastor Carolyn for inclusion in tomorrow’s worship service. carolyn@labcoakland.org