Note from Pastor Myra

Dear Friends,

I sincerely hope and pray that this note finds you healthy. As we turn the corner on another week of quarantine, I know that God continues to move in the life of our church family and your lives. This is our verse for today:

Lamentations 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

I hope you are finding God’s mercies in new ways every morning. We, the church staff, are finding new ways to connect and comfort, to be in prayer and ministry.

We are all abiding by the Governor’s order to “stay home,” and we pray that you are as well. Please know that we are using every tool, every resource that God has given us to care for our community. While we, your pastors, are not allowed to make hospital visits, our church has been blessed with folks on the inside, nurses from our congregation, who will take time to go and check on those in our church family who are in the hospital.

We are taking connections through calls, emails, Facebook, Zoom, and Google Hangouts to a new level. The order does allow us to continue feeding the hungry and homeless every day, and we are doing that under new guidelines that provide safety for our volunteers and staff and those receiving our meals.

Our church will continue to worship on Sundays, continuing to come to you remotely from our various (at home) locations. Last Sunday on Facebook, I asked you to send in pictures of how you worship, what does it look like at your house during our online service. The results are heartwarming and hilarious, and you will see them all during our service this Sunday.

Here are some ways that we are connecting with all of you. If you are having trouble joining in on these (and would like to), please let us know. We can help you join in.

  • Sunday Services are streaming at rofum.org/live at 9:00 and 11:00 am.
  • Our Calling Circle of Care continues every day. If you feel like you have never gotten so many calls, then it’s working. If you have not received a call and would like one, please let us know. If you want to be a caller, let us know that as well. We will keep this going as long as we are in quarantine.
  • Daily devotions are on Facebook Live every day. One of your pastors will be on every morning with a short devotion to start your day. If you are not on Facebook, let us know, and we will send you a link to see the devotions.
  • Children’s Time with Pastor Myra is live on Facebook every day at 4:00 pm and available to rewatch on demand any time after that. Jennifer Semivan is joining us on Wednesdays to add a little Holy Cow music and we will have some “mystery readers” in the days ahead.
  • Our Lenten Groups continue on Google Hangout and Zoom. If you want to be part of one, let us know.

Holy Week:

  • We are offering “grab and go” palms. Stop by the Tower Entrance of the church on 7th street on Saturday, April 4, after 1:00 pm. Please take one palm for every member of your family and get ready to wave them with us (remotely) on Sunday morning.
  • Palm Sunday services streaming at 9:00 and 11:00 am.
  • Maundy Thursday service streaming at 7:00 pm
  • Good Friday service streaming at 12:00 and 7:00 pm.
  • Easter Sunday services streaming at 9:00 and 11:00 am.
    • Be a part of our Easter Service! Take a photo or a short video of yourself or you and your family dressed for Easter. Easter outfits, hats, and bunnies are encouraged, but a good Easter T-shirt or bunny ears with your bathrobe is also acceptable. Give us your Easter blessing. “Happy Easter” “He is Risen” “He is Risen, Indeed.” “Hallelujah,” and email your videos and pictures to Sam Garrett at sgarrett@rofum.org Videos should be no longer than 10 seconds.

While we all might be “sheltering” at home, our spirits and the spirit of the living God are still soaring. I am continually amazed by what can be accomplished from our homes. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Stay safe, be well,

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