Dear Saint Luke's Family,

 

As you know, we have tied our decision making about church gathering activities to two different leading institutions: our gathering together has been guided by decisions made by Dekalb County Schools, and our opening the building and church office have been tied to decisions made by Dunwoody City Hall. This note is to confirm that both of those guiding institutions extended their closures this week: Dekalb Schools to April 24th and City Hall to April 13th.  So Saint Luke's will continue with online worship, classes, and meetings until at least Sunday, April 26th, and the building & church office will remain closed until at least April 13th.  Closures will likely extend beyond those dates as well. 

 

This means it has become official that we will not gather for Holy Week, as expected, and as we have been preparing to do. We are also, simultaneously, preparing for the possibility that even gatherings of less than 10 become restricted, at which point we will be leading worship services from our homes.  But given the current guidance, the worship staff has met and decided to prepare online Holy Week worship according to the following schedule:

 

 

These times will be advertised through the usual channels, including our website and Facebook page.  One advantage to online worship is that it can be experienced live, at the scheduled time, or any time thereafter.  So these are the times the worship experience will be live, but they will of course be available for worshippers for the rest of each holy day and beyond.  (This was one justification among others for Good Friday at noon.)

 

The change is necessary for the cause of love and public health, and cause for both lament and excitement.  We grieve the inability to gather in person for the holiest week of our year together.  And because of this grief, we will also plan a joyful return to gathering in the sanctuary again when it becomes safe to do so.  But we can also get energized by the new possibilities online worship opens up, like Maundy Thursday worship from our homes, which was the setting of the Lord's Supper story.  We can also rejoice that it appears more people are worshipping with Saint Luke's online than did when we were gathering in person, including people from all over the country (even visitors from Havana, Cuba)!  So there is great evidence that God is here, that the Spirit is moving through even this difficult time, in our congregational life and in our worship.  Like most things with God and faith, the results are exceeding our hopes and expectations.

 

One of the great possibilities that online worship is making for Saint Luke's is the ability to share and invite others to worship with us. I hope you will make sure to invite your family, your friends, and your neighbors to worship with Saint Luke's, either by sending a link by email or by sharing our Facebook Live streaming video with your Facebook friends.  This is a great time for sharing our wonderful church with people who are seeking to feel connected!

 

Saint Luke's is living fully right now - even with all the obstacles - because of the excellence and hard work of pastors, staff, and leaders.  And I would like to exclaim from the mountaintop a special shout out for the Saint Luke's staff team, for its effort and its excellent work and its relentless commitment to loving and serving, even as we've had to reinvent how we do just about everything.

 

So we can remain grateful and hopeful, even as we wait and keep each other safe.  Stay home, stay safe, stay connected, and stay vigilant in compassion for others!

 

We pray ceaselessly for those upon whom this time bears down - those sick, those most vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19, and those most vulnerable to the effects of economic slowdown, particularly the poor and already marginalized.  And as we pray together, please continue to consider the ways you can help those most impacted by the strains of the moment.  As the psalmist sang long ago, "Our soul waits for the Lord; God is our help and shield.  Our heart is glad in the Lord, because we trust in God's holy name.  Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you" (Psalm 33:20-22).

 

See y'all online Sunday at 10:30, as we remember with God that "Everything Will Be OK" (but in the ways that Jesus means).

 

Peace,