Lake Forest Park Church

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Pastor Frank E-Blast

Weekly Update - 09/18/2020

Posted by Frank Baresel on

Friends,
 
  • Tomorrow, from 1PM-2:30PM the church is holding a drive-thru Baby Shower for Andrea. Further details are available on the website, but Andrea will be there and you can visit briefly from your car.
  • Long-time member, Patsy Rice, passed into glory a week ago Sunday. Some of you may not know her by name, but you will remember her as the person who signed with the worship team and the choir. Pray for her husband, Ron, and family as they mourn. We’ll have info on services when they become available.
  • Our discussion groups around the topic of Racial Justice got underway yesterday. It’s not too late to join a group for those interested in continuing study of this current issue. Information on groups, and Zoom sign-ins are available on our website.
  • This Sunday we’re beginning a series through the book of Ephesians. We’ll be looking at chapter 1, vv. 1-14 this weekend if you’d like to read in preparation.
 
As school begins—virtually—and the pandemic continues to keep us apart, with wildfires raging in our area and further south in Oregon and California, the lingering effects of all of this is wearing folks down. I want to pass along a timely insight from our friend Doug Bunnell, pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Bellingham, who recently wrote that a new normal requires new rhythms. His point is that, for the time being, what we’re living with has become a new normal—however temporary it may eventually be—for the moment it’s our reality. But because of the uncertainty of how long this continues, we’ve been slow to adjust our rhythms to navigate this time. We’re still living in the hope that it’s going to change back soon, and we’re living in the routines we had before all of this cascaded around us. Instead of focusing on what we’ve lost, it’s helpful to consider what we have, and build new routines into our lives. Some of these routines might involve new practices, such as daily scripture reading, prayer throughout the day, and opportunities for serving those close to us—primarily those in our household, and those in close proximity like neighbors. Perhaps now would be an opportune time to engage in one of the Zoom studies being offered. Perhaps now would be a great time to intentionally reach out to folks through phone calls, email, text messages, or a written note that says “I’m thinking about you and praying God’s best for you right now.” What opportunities do you have to bless and encourage others?
 
Also, we’re keeping an eye on where our county is in the governor’s staged re-opening phases. As it stands right now, King County is in Phase 2, meaning that some re-gathering is permitted. This sounds promising, but before we’re allowed to resume some semblance of gathered worship service, we need to have a re-opening plan in place. We have been developing a plan, and we’re at a place where it would be helpful to have a task force working together on this. If you would like to join that group, would you kindly let Jaime Ledger know of your interest? You can reach her at: . Our primary interest remains keeping our congregation and community safe during this public health crisis. There are protocols required, and working out the mechanics of this is what’s immediately before us. Regardless of when we’re able to gather again, we will continue to live-stream our services for the benefit of those in high risk categories or those who wouldn’t feel comfortable returning to larger gatherings for the moment. We’ll keep you in the loop as information becomes available!
 
By the way, for some who might not have been able to join us for the congregational meeting last week, and may not have heard, the congregation voted to call Andrea Chaumont as Associate Pastor for Family Ministry at LFPPC! She begins in this role this Sunday. We look forward to how God will shape our congregation and ministry as Andrea takes on this new role.
 
“See” you Sunday!
—frank

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