You're probably reading and hearing about "re-opening" businesses and "restarting" the economy. Christ the King has been open throughout this Coronavirus crisis to serve you with prayer, worship, Holy Communion, and the Word of God.
Our Board of Elders and Pastor will be meeting the week of May 10 to talk about how a return to our regular ministry schedule and activities might happen.. But how will we get ready for that?
I've written a Bible study that asks "What might the Holy Spirit want us to consider?" on the activities of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts; if you're interested, HERE>> it is (it will be the basis of sermons and Bible studies beginning May 24).
I've also summarized the study in the following questions, which I discuss briefly in this video HERE>>.
8 IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO BE ASKING OURSELVES
Where is the Holy Spirit acting in power in the Church in these [COVID-19] days? Is it merely / primarily in creative technological “solutions,” or is it in other, less obvious forms like prayer, Scripture reading, and Sabbath rest?
Are we preparing to “return to normal” because the Holy Spirit is compelling us to do so, or simply because “normal” is familiar? How will we discern what the Holy Spirit may be compelling us to do, even if it doesn’t seem like the safe option?
Is it possible that the Holy Spirit is calling us to a specific sort of ministry that is different than what we are familiar with?
What might we do to be ready if the Holy Spirit decides to come and fill us with His power in ways that are unusual for us?
In what ways, if any, might the Holy Spirit be using this coronavirus situation to put a stop to some things He does not wish us to continue as we consider “re-opening”?
How might we determine which of our “re-opening plans” are consistent with the Word of God and which ones are not?
What individuals or groups of people affiliated with our congregation need special encouragement in their faith life? Which ones need to know love and acceptance from us? Which ones need to know they are a part of our community even while isolated?
If this quarantine period marks the end of one way of life for God’s people and the beginning of something entirely new, rather than as an exile or a Sabbath from which we think we’d like to return, what might our people be like? What might our pastor be like? What might our church be like?
Please read, watch, pray about whatever of this touches your heart - and if you want to get back to me with thoughts or questions you can email me at ctklutheranlodi@gmail.com.
We'll keep you informed as time goes on. God bless us everyone!
Pastor Cahill
