Here at Hope, the church doors are closed, and the facilities are locked up. But here’s the good news! The church is not a building. The church is the people. And the mission work of our church goes on, even in these unsettling, anything-but-ordinary days of the coronavirus pandemic. We pray you’re doing well, and we want to share some quick updates with you.
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We’ve been unable to hold regular weekend worship services for the past three weeks, and right now only the good Lord knows when we’ll be together again in the sanctuary. In the meantime, you are encouraged to make every effort to keep worshipping, utilizing the online version of our weekend and Wednesday PM midweek worship services. Visit Hope’s website,
www.hopelutheranwf.org/worship-resources
. New services and sermons will be added this week on Wednesday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. We encourage you to print up your worship bulletin, listen in, and make it as worshipful an experience as you possibly can. Other resources, including prayer request directions, daily devotions, and Bible study materials, are available on the same website page.
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Although it’s heartbreaking to say, Hope’s worship services for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday will be online this year. During Holy Week, we remember and commemorate the sacred events that form the very center of our Christian faith. Please be sure to join us for each of these special worship services on April 9, April 10, and April 12, as we recall the timeless story of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection … for us! We’ll be incorporating some video elements in these services, as we try to keep some of our congregation’s beautiful Holy Week liturgical traditions alive in this unusual year. We pray that the body of Christ here at Hope will join together for these sacred days of worship.
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One of our great joys as Christians is to gather around the Lord’s Table, sharing in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. We miss sharing Communion with you. We ask you to bear in mind, however, that, as Lutherans, we are a “Word and Sacrament” Church. We have three means by which to receive grace: the Word of God, Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Historically, the Church has had to rely on the Word of God and our Baptisms when we could not celebrate the Lord’s Supper. God’s Word assures us of forgiveness of sins, provides faith-producing promises of God, and instructs us in living as a child of God, even when we do not have opportunity to receive the Sacrament of the Altar.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve deliberated a variety of ways to try to offer the Sacrament to members of the congregation in a safe manner. The medical community reminds us, though, that there is no guarantee that the people distributing or receiving communion are not infecting one another. The solution that we wish we could offer for spiritual health may actually lead to physical sickness. With regret, then, we will wait to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion until we can return to our sanctuary.
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Office & Staff
The work situation for our church ministry staff members continues to change. Responding to county and state mandates, Hope’s facilities are now closed for all normal ministry activities. Our church ministry staff members are working from home, except for carrying out vital necessary functions here at the church to carry on minimal basic operations, as stipulated by county and state mandates. Please call the church office at 919-554-8109, if we can be of any help to you, or email/text the church ministry staff members (pastors, DCE’s, Operations Manager, Communications Manager).
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As stated above, you can pass on any prayer requests through our
website
, and we will pass them along to the church. While we currently are not aware of anyone from our Hope community who has tested positive for the coronavirus, or has been directly exposed to a person who’s tested positive, many of us have loved ones who need the church’s prayers. The power of prayer is very real, and God promises to hear every prayer. Pray faithfully and daily for God’s help and intervention in our church, our community, our state, our nation, and around our globe.
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We have copies of the April-June daily devotional booklet that many of our Hope members enjoy, but we’re unable to distribute them currently. We are delighted to let you know that you are welcome to read the daily devotional on the website of Concordia Publishing House (
www.cph.org
). Click on the box that reads, “Today’s devotion from Portals of Prayer.”
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NEED HELP?
A number of Hope members have offered to be of assistance to those members of the congregation who in the at-risk categories, or who are aren’t able to take care of their own essential needs. Please let one of the pastors know if you need help in some way.
HELP THE NEEDY
For many years, Hope members have contributed food and grocery items to the Tri-Area Ministries Food Pantry, in order to help those in need in our community. During these trying times, the needs of the poor may be greater than ever. If you would like to contribute, please drop your donated items off at Tri-Area Ministries Food Pantry(149 East Holding Avenue, Wake Forest) on Mondays or Wednesdays, 10 AM – 1 PM. A list of needed items is available on their website (
https://triareaministry.com/donate/
).
COMMUNITY FUNDRAISER
We heard about a Go Fund Me effort out there in the community, to benefit ChurchNET, an organization sponsored by several local churches (including ours) that helps folks in need to pay utility bills. For more information, or to contribute, go to
their website
.
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We’re daily receiving offering envelopes in the mail, or via electronic transfer, and those stewardship gifts are very much appreciated. Obviously, though, the longer the church and preschool are closed, the greater our financial needs will become. We understand that not everyone will be able to maintain their previous giving levels, due to the tremendous economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but we ask all of our church members to be as faithful in stewardship as possible. Gifts of all sizes are much appreciated. For more information about Hope’s electronic giving options, go to
www.hopelutheranwf.org/donate
for more information, or email Hilary Tew, Operations Manager, at
[email protected]
. “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
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FRAUD ALERT
Even in these days of extreme social distress, be wary of criminals and scam artists at work. Recently, some of our church members have received emails or texts that are allegedly from Pastor Wayne or Pastor Lew, asking for cash or gift cards to be sent for emergency purposes. Pray for these twisted individuals, but don't send anything. Just so you know, Hope's pastors will never solicit funds in this way. Speak to Pastor Wayne or Pastor Lew if you have any questions.
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Even though the building is closed here at Hope,
church
is still going on! Pray to God to help you
be the church
this week. Reach out and offer help to a neighbor. Worship online. Be a faithful steward. Gather together a small group of church members online. Study your Bible. Share what’s going on at Hope via your social ministry posts. Pray for those in the church, and offer to pray for the people you interact with outside the church.
We are the church!
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God be with you until we meet again!
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