Dear Members and Friends of the Ark and Dove Community,

I am feeling grateful for our deacons, our musicians, our choir and our worship tech team for hosting a very special funeral service for the Keyes family yesterday.  Frances had a great send off. Thank you for being a supportive and caring church family.

Pastor Jon told me that over 60 people are participating in our Lenten Study groups, and that others are reading Howard Thurman’s book on their own. Thank you for being a curious congregation with a passion for learning and growing.

It may be hidden to many of us, but every week of COVID there have been online and in-person (outdoor) ministries for children and youth at Ark and Dove. Thank you for being a church family that values and nurtures our young people.

Speaking of church families, did you know that there is a field of study called church family systems?  Starting on April 6 at 7:00 pm, for three weeks, Pastor Stephen Price-Gibson, one of our three Parish Associates, will be leading a three week class (April 13 and 20 too) on church family systems. He's already digging in to get ready.

It could be that his theme will be: best ways to be a bad [sic] church leader. It is part of our Equipping the Saints church leader training series, but this time it is not a one off, it is a "three-weeker."  I think any church member will find the class very interesting. Here is what Stephen told me today: “We all bring to all of the groups, to which we are a part, a repertoire of ways to cope which we have learned in our families of origin." (In this case we bring them to our church family.) "We instinctively apply these methods to our participation in our church family. If we are aware of our own ways, we can make better choices about how we participate in church life and or leadership and can prevent ourselves from making unspoken assumptions, that lead us all into trouble.”

I think this will be a fascinating three weeks. More details to follow. 

Peace of Christ to the whole church family,

tstern@arkanddove.org

Dear Friends and Members of Ark and Dove,

If the way be clear, we will have our first in-person worship service in quite a long time next Wednesday evening. It will be outside. We will wear masks and distance ourselves from one another. It will look and feel different from what we remember, but we will worship together in person. It will have been a year since we have done so. In the past year, I have relearned a few things about worship that I would like to pass on as we look forward to in-person outdoor worship.

God is where we are. When we were regularly worshipping in person, I could see people getting in touch with God. In praise, prayer, and sermon, I witnessed when the Spirit alighted on us. Expressions of joy, lament, and inspiration could be seen on our faces. It was evident God was with us in the sanctuary. I missed that when we went all online. But as I talked with so many of you through the week, it was clear that in and through worship at home, God was stirring something among us. There were resonances occurring simultaneously in many homes. God is and will be where we are.

Worship is not performance or production. Our talented tech team made it possible to bring quality worship to many households. We adapted everything to the scope of a camera or two. We wanted to create the best worship experience and have tried to improve our sound and video. But the feedback we have received has been that the authentic and raw moments were the ones that hit home--literally and metaphorically. Our worship services are not good because of their performance and production value, though they are certainly better for this. They are good because they offer an authentic and real worship experience. Thankfully our tech team has been able to communicate such authenticity.

Connected community is essential. I am now in the habit of doing something I would never have done a year ago: I keep my phone out and application open during worship. I scroll the YouTube and Facebook messages and engage as appropriate. This is a mere substitute for all the little conversations I used to have within the worship hour. When we worship, we worship as people connected by a common love and mission. We share ourselves with others as we share ourselves with God. For now, I can connect with you during worship on my phone. I look forward to connecting in person.

As we look forward to the possibility of in-person worship, I want to carry with me what I have learned this last year. You have likely learned a few things about worship too. Please share them.

Peace,

jnelson@arkanddove.org

PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT for Arlyce Lohr; Annetta Fenstermacher; Amy Richarme; Patty Plander; Krista Klohr; Gary Myers; Christa Kronser; Merlin Berry; Dick Paronto; Bob Johns; Richard and Edie Budd; Vaughn Brown; Debbie Saylor’s sister, Christine; Ryan Stavely’s father, Brian; Brooks Emrick and her sister, Susan; Dotty Kaufman, her son, Bill, daughter-in-law, Carol, granddaughter, Sarah, and grandson Nathan; Steve Debus' cousin-in-law, Stephan; Kathy Miller’s brother-in-law, Jeff Miller; Lewis Shorter and Lewis Shorter’s niece, Jennifer Schwandt-Gayle; Emily Crose’s grandmother, Lois Eichhorn; Bob Fuller’s brother, Joe Fuller; Dot Forloines’ family and her great-grandson Luke; Donna Anderson's brother-in-law, Tom Brown; Debbie and Bruce Arey’s family in Connecticut and daughter, Allison, and niece, Naomi; Linda Taylor’s mother, Izola; Grant Kirby’s mother, Caroline, and Julia Kirby's mother, Margaret Floyd; Clarke Beaudry’s mother, Judy LaMarque; Kennon Bauman’s uncle, Dan Johnston; Amy Goldberg’s grandmother, Ruth Cooper; Christy Yeager’s mother, Linda Jordan; Diane Johnson's Uncle Ed, Aunt Janet, and cousin Richard; Shelley Franklin's father; Hollis Butterworth’s daughter, Rachel Mershont; Amanda Wehage’s sister and father, Dave; Laurie Barrow’s nephew, Gunther Kurtz; Sabonna Keeney’s mother; Bernabe and Griselda Solano, and Griselda's sister, Irma; Laura Doughty’s brother-in-law, Carl Hahn, and Paul Doughty’s mother, Ruth Doughty; Laura Willoughby's father, Norman; Bill Ruble’s mother, Mary Jane Weathers; Ann Hirschy’s aunt, Cindy, and brother; Christina Nelson’s grandmother, Pat Dole; Kelly Burnett’s nephew, Justin; Patriceo Green’s cousin, Philip Brown; Lou Kareha’s aunt, Judy Kochis, and cousin, Thomas; Cheryl and Doug Walcutt’s grandchild, Gray Adacutt; Cheryl Walcutt’s mother, nephew, and sisters; Erika Sealing's son, Trip, and grandmother, Margaret Schade; Sue Hanburger's friends, Barb, Phyllis, Martha and Craig; Linnie Girdner and Jan Hof’s friend, Grace Ligon; Ylonda Fauntleroy’s friends, Alma Hinton and Tanya; Rob Yeager’s friends, Lisa and Kearston; Scott Howe’s friend, Jen Miller; the Gaurins’ friends Nyla and Danielle; Kim Young’s friends, Pat and Joyce; Catherine Chambers’ friend, Seamus; Michelle Schoonmaker’s friend Bri Reed; Craddock family; and Kathy Emmert's friend, Patty.

PRAYERS OF HEALING for those with COVID-19 including: Christine Connally’s cousin, Karen; Kelly Stern’s friend, Lisa Brown’s father; Jim and Judy Cooper’s friend, Tim McNutt; Margaret McGillivray’s friends, the Sanders family; Linnie Girdner’s granddaughter, Michelle Hyman and Josephine Girdner; Doug Walcutt’s father, Chuck Walcutt, and stepmother, Linda Walcutt; Diane Johnson’s grandson, Avery Woods; Ed Barrett's friend, Joe Bogner; Julia Kirby’s great niece, nephew, his wife, and friends, the Speer family, the Coffey family, and April and Sam; Amy Hagemann’s friend, Mary Hurt Werner; Rob Yeager’s friends, David Palombo, and Jeff and Ana Siegel; Lisa Marino, Jay Mulholland, and their 4-month-old daughter Lily; Ylonda Fauntleroy's family, Annette and Leah Turner, and friends, Sandra and Elijah Williams; Debbie Saylor’s friend, Frank Williams; Michelle Schoonmaker's friends Kate Kaput and Ajita Robinson; Yeni, her husband and their six children; Jennifer Roman's aunt, Laura Clay, and grandmother, Louise Nothdurft; Kathy Emmert’s friends, Chuck and Cheryl; and Lori Kronser’s friend Debbie and her family.

PRAYERS OF LOVE, SUPPORT AND PROTECTION for all essential workers around the world, including: Mike Stiegler; Bill Gaurin; Tricia Gray’s mother, Sabrina Johnson; Becca Distad; Jack Burnett; Caitlyn Bussey; Emily Sanders; Audrey Miller; Linda Jordan’s nephew, Russell; the Ralston’s family members and friends; Simone Stiegler’s friend, Jean Marie; Amy Grimm’s mother; Jeff Grimm; Amy Goldberg’s brother, Joseph Alexander, and parents, Michael and Maryann Cooper; Judy Cooper’s daughter; John Mikeska’s son, Jonathan; and Hollis Butterworth’s sister-in-law, Cyndie.