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Hi Parkway --
If you were in worship or watching online this past Sunday, you heard me announce that on Sunday, October 1st, we are going to pause live-streaming the 10:30 service. I want to take a minute to clarify what changes will happen and why it's happening now.
First -- In pausing the live-stream of our 10:30 service, we will not go from streaming the service to posting nothing. The challenge of streaming an entire service lies in getting a professional mix on the band while it is happening in real-time. While we work towards a way to put the best quality of music forward, we will still record the sermon and post it on either Sunday or Monday, depending on how the process works out. This allows us to put a good snapshot of worship at Parkway online while we work to see how we can put more of Sunday online at a high quality.
Second -- this change is about making sure our online content has purpose and direction. When COVID shut everything down in 2020, the goal was simply to have worship online and available to the entire congregation. But now, living past those early days of COVID, have our goals changed?
I see our goals as heading in two directions:
The first is to have Parkway's worship available to anyone who is sick, out-of-town, or, for whatever reason, is not at Parkway in-person. We are meeting this goal with inconsistent quality.
The second is due to streaming has become a sort of informal audition for people considering going to worship in-person. When we put forward worship of inconsistent quality, we are not necessarily meeting the goal of connecting with new people and families. This is what we are working on in this change of what we put online.
Finally -- I had announced this change would start on Sunday, October 1st -- but in working out the timeline this week, we determined it makes more sense to push back one more week to Sunday, October 8th.
If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to me. I want to hear from you, how you and your family use streaming, and how we might improve.
Beyond changes to streaming, here are a few other ways you can plug-in and be a part of the life and ministry at Parkway:
Taking it to the Streets
Taking it to the Streets has long been a Sunday at Parkway, usually in October, where we do not meet for regular worship, but instead go out into the community to work, help, and serve others through different projects.
We have tentatively set this year's date for Taking it to the Streets as Sunday, October 22nd. BUT -- we need your help in making it come together.
We are currently in search of service and mission projects. We have a few, and a few leads, but not enough to give everyone at Parkway a chance to serve. If you know of any projects in the area that can be completed in a half-day or less, and do not depend on highly specialized skills, please reply to this email with any leads or ideas.
If we cannot locate enough projects within the next week or two, our plan is to push Taking it to the Streets until the Spring.
Help with Hospitality
Parkway needs your help to make sure people feel at home on Sunday morning. Whether in handing out bulletins, greeting at the front doors, or making sure everyone gets donut holes and caffeine, there are easy ways that all of us can make sure people, especially new people feel welcome from the moment they step through the door.
If you'd be willing to help welcome people to Parkway, please send a quick email to Debbie Mullen at dmullen@parkwayumc.org.
She will help you get on the weekly email where you can sign up for a simple job that can make a big difference. You'll be able to sign up as you are available. If all of us take a week every once in a while, we'll all benefit by sharing the load together!
Pizza with the Pastors
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