Rincon United Methodist Church 107 Savannah Avenue, Rincon, GA 31326 (Web Site) www.rinconumc.org (E-Mail) [email protected]912-826-5796 Loving God Loving People Growing Together Moving Forward Faith Connections As November begins, our hearts and minds turn to Thanksgiving. We truly have so many reasons to be thankful! Even in the midst of this global viral pandemic, we have a lot for which to be thankful. I am thankful for our loving church family and the way we have come together to support each other during this challenging time. I am thankful for the many cards, calls, texts and words of support and appreciation for the extra effort Ralph, D’Ve and I have done to help keep our church family connected and worshipping together. I am thankful for the help of many church family members which allowed us to be the first UMC in Effingham County (and maybe the Coastal District) to resume in person worship with our drive-in service. Because of their technical expertise and equipment, a radio frequency transmitter I have for Christmas lights, and the pastoral way that Ralph leads our music ministry, and the many volunteer musicians and singers, we have had meaningful worship experiences in the parking together from very early on in this pandemic. I am thankful for the volunteers who have stepped forward to help our transition back into the sanctuary be as seamless as possible. I am thankful everyone who has ushered, done forehead temperature scans, dispensed hand sanitizer and run the slides. I am thankful to all who gave toward our new screens and all who installed them so that we could begin using them as soon as we returned to the sanctuary. I am thankful for the flexibility and understanding of those who have attended worship in the sanctuary as we learn how to do this in a way that is appropriate for our context, follows CDC guidelines and ensures that even the most vulnerable are able to be part of the in-person worshipping community. I am thankful for the group of leaders who have helped me lead our facility re-opening process. We are truly blessed to have such leaders in our church family. Their wisdom and compassion, their desire to bring all voices to the table, their love for each other and our entire church family has been an amazing blessing to behold as we have sat socially distant together at the table to discuss this important topic together. I am thankful that, from our latest meeting, I have more good news to share with you in this article. Beginning with the service on October 25, we have greatly increased our capacity. We believe that with the new measures we have in place we should be able to seat nearly the number of people we had in attendance before the pandemic began. We still need to require reservations, so that social distancing can be maintained in the worship service. We will still be requiring masks, doing forehead scans and having attendees use hand sanitizer before entering, to help mitigate any contagion. Ushers will be seating attendees at the beginning of the service and ushering them out at the end of the service, to limit any chance of contact closer than 6 feet. All attendees are welcome to visit on the lawn after the service, following CDC guidelines and observing social distancing. When you call to make your reservation, if there are folks outside of your household with whom you have close contact in other settings (friends, extended family, class or circle, etc.) you can make your reservation to sit together. I am thankful that we are also at a place where, if the pandemic doesn’t start getting worse, we are looking at returning to Sunday School on Sunday morning (Sunday School classes are wel- come to contact the office a schedule a time other than Sunday morning for meetings currently), (Continued on page 2) Prayer Requests: Dolores Bott Ruth Hedrick Family of Remer Frawley D’Ve Wilkins & Family Barbara Heath & Family Gloria Antonio & Family Wayne & Ann Cockrell, Jim & Jill Anderson Peggy & Grady Long Christina Lyles Noah Edwards Vicky Waller Jordan Rahn Dean Holland Brad and Ann Kephart RD Jaudon Carolyn & Stanley Grisriel Robb Anderson Glenn Andrews Ray & Shirley Causey Norma Cave Camilla Corbin Keith & Marsha Cornell Charlie Dukes Jack Green Arlene Herndon Beth Holland Joyce Kelley Maxine Oglesby LCPL Brisco Olsen Donald Quinones Mary Rotureau James Sapp Ernest Zittrouer We have updated our prayer list, if you have a prayer request, please let us know. A Psalm of Thanksgiving
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Loving God Growing Together Faith Connections · 2020. 10. 29. · Loving God Loving People ... support each other during this challenging time. I am thankful for the many cards,
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