Update

Dear Friends in Christ,

+ Grace and Peace

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, 

who are called according to God’s purpose.  Romans 8:28

This verse was part of the appointed scripture for yesterday’s evening prayer in the devotional resource I use.  I shared this with the members of our church council and staff as we met last evening online in a video conference. We spent some time with devotions and prayer before beginning discussion of our next steps in response to the pandemic. 

As the leadership of the congregation, we are concerned that as we abide by the recommended safety precautions we all become very intentional about establishing and maintaining connections with members, neighbors and friends. Please help in this effort by reaching out to those in your circle of influence. Telephone calls, emails, and notes can help in this effort. 

Central to our life together is our individual and corporate spiritual well-being. A weekly guide for home worship on Sundays will be emailed to you. It will include the list of appointed readings, a video reflection from me, prayers of intercession, and an invitation to respond. I will send an additional mid-week message of encouragement and requests for prayer on Wednesdays inviting us all to set aside Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM as common prayer time. While we can't be together physically, we can unite together in prayer for one another, our community, and the world that God so loves.

Finally, the consensus of the leadership at last night’s meeting is that the church building be closed until further notice. While the building is closed, we are still the church. These challenging times also present us with an opportunity to recommit ourselves to daily reading of scripture and prayer. There are many resources available. I am including several here for you to explore. If you have any questions or would like to discuss anything, please give me a call.  My direct phone number is 717-253-0322. My email is cakfrye@gmail.com. If you have prayer requests to share, please let me know so that they may be included on the Wednesday email.

Daily Lectio:  Daily Lectio  This is something I just discovered thanks.  It is available online and can also be downloaded as an app on phones and tablets. 

God Pause:  God Pause – A daily devotion from Luther Seminary  
This is one and the next was  suggested by Lisa Horton 

Lutheran Hour Ministries:  https://www.lhm.org/dailydevotions   

Moravian Daily Texts:  "Moravian Daily Texts"  
The Moravian Church has been at this for a long time. These daily texts provide a daily watchword and prayer. 

Finally, in addition to sending the Sunday and Wednesday emails, I will post everything to my blog, Willing Habitation. To access this blog you may follow the link below:  

http://willinghabitation.blogspot.com/

And now, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen 

        Galatians 6:18 NIV

In Christ’s love for you,

Pastor Frye

Please continue to give. When this is over, we still want to have a church. We support mission and ministry in our community, the United States and the world through our giving in addition to providing salaries for staff, the upkeep of our facility, and the payment of our monthly mortgage.

Offering can be mailed to the office, or you can request your bank to send an electronic check. The most efficient way is to use our online giving option by Vanco. You can access this at our website:  www.saintlukechambersburg.org