Dear Presbytery Family,
We are one in Christ, and by acting together our churches are reducing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for your concern for others and for your actions that protect the safety of many people. The Presbytery Coordinating Council strongly recommends that our local congregations continue to suspend public gatherings at this time and encourages our sessions to consider very carefully the conditions that will allow public gatherings in the future.
This weeks updates:
- A link to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidance on conditions for reopening churches.
- A link to the current and comprehensive COVID-19 information (like the "Returning to Church" document developed by the Wisconsin Council of Churches) posted on our website, which is www.staugpres.org.
- David Lee continues to offer a Pastors’ Call In on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m., with new folks participating each week.
- Please continue to send us your stories of following God’s Spirit into new ways of service, info@staugpres.org. The church is as strong, resilient, and Spirit-led as ever. As we profess in our Brief Statement of Faith, “In life and in death we belong to God.” With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- For those who are still getting acquainted with the Zoom platform (application) and would like to know more about it, we have prepared a Quick Start Guide to help!
- The St. Augustine Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Commission met this week to approve a grant request to forward to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PSA) that will help one of our churches restock its food pantry.
- The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is continuing its work towards a gathering that is completely online. Our presbytery's commissioners and advisory delegates have begun their training so that they can participate fully and faithfully.
As the Wisconsin Council of Churches document states,
" . . . our first priority as disciples of Jesus Christ is to protect those who are most vulnerable, which includes the elderly, the very young, and those with underlying health conditions. Even though we all want to return to our churches and be a part of the body of Christ in person, I (we) believe that it is more important to assure the safety of our communities from further infections.”
We continue to pray with Almighty God for our world’s health and wholeness and that the hope and compassion of our response is faithful to Christ’s Resurrection, which is God’s response to death and deep despair.
Diane Wilson, Chair of Coordinating Council
Edd Norris, Moderator of the Presbytery
Sandra Hedrick, Stated Clerk
Chris Lieberman, Relationship Coordination Director
On Behalf of the Coordinating Council
