Friends in Faith,
We enjoyed a fantastic evening of music with the Tropicali Flames this past Sunday evening! We were happy to see many familiar faces who we haven't seen in a while. Everyone wore masks, we were socially distanced, and the delta breeze provided us with a refreshing atmosphere. If you look closely at the picture, the band all wore masks and the saxophonist even played through a small hole in his mask!
Despite some of the strange realities of this COVID-19 pandemic, the band was thrilled to perform again and we so appreciated hearing their wonderful songs. You can listen here to a few of the songs they performed at the concert. We all agreed that we'll need to have them back again someday for another show.
Speaking of beautiful music, Dr. May Tucker has provided us with another couple of hymns to sing-a-long-to! You can find the hymns here.
Normally, as we enter into August, most Bethany commissions (“work groups”) begin ramping up their plans for the fall; there is always a lot of good energy as we begin a new program year together. However, due to the coronavirus, we all know that this year is proving to be very different than the others. Even as there seems to be some good progress being made on a vaccine, it's likely that we will still be worshiping virtually for some months to come. We have a committee working to plan some safe and meaningful events we can offer as we make our way through these days of our “new normal.” Lots of great ideas have already been springing up—we've shared in a book study together, outdoor worship and an outdoor concert, to name a few. If you have an idea or two that you'd like to share, please send me an e-mail and let me know. Despite the many limitations of this era, so many are responding with all sorts of creative ideas and it's a joy to witness.
As new ideas take shape, we also want to encourage folks to consider helping out around the church and with our events. We are always eager to welcome new voices at our Zoom worship service on Sunday mornings; if you would like to share a faith story, a song, a poem, or a prayer, please let me know. Those who participate in the Zoom worship services have found such sharing to be very powerful. In addition, we have a small team of folks who help present our Facebook worship services at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays. We would love to have additional help with videoing these services, with the sound system, decorations, etc. As always, “socially distanced” safety precautions will be observed.
With all that said, we also know that for many people in our congregation, the safest option is to simply stay at home and limit exposure to the virus. Let us keep praying for one another, check in with each other when you can, and don't forget that we still need your financial support to pay the bills and Bethany's various endeavors. You can send a check to the office or you can even give online. We thank you for your support!
God's peace to you all,
Jesse
UPDATES
Our weekly schedule continues … 11 a.m. Zoom Bible studies on Tuesdays, 11 a.m. Zoom check-ins on Wednesdays, and 10:30 a.m. Facebook Worship followed by 11 a.m. Zoom worship on Sundays. The links for all of these events can always be found on our news page.
Freshly cleaned chairs … loads of hand sanitizer … individuals not in “family groups” seated six feet or more apart … and face masks (even on the musicians!) helped make our concert a safely sensible and joy-filled event.
