Letter to Congregation 10-14-2020
Pastor Letter 10/14/20
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In my morning devotional time, I was reminded of the natural tendency of myself, and many others, to see ourselves through other people’s eyes. When this happens, it means we are less concerned with how God sees us. In these challenging times when anxiety and fears are high, it is common to transfer that anxiety and fear into other areas of our life. These emotional reactions can often cause those around us to fall into this negative practice of viewing oneself through the lens of the person having an emotional reaction. It is important in these times, where we know people are reacting on emotions more often than not, to remember who we are and whose we are. When we find ourselves upset by others, words or actions directed at us, we must ask God to remind us how God sees us as beloved, robed in righteousness and as fallible forgiven human beings.
When we view ourselves through God’s eyes, we recognize we are loved and return to the joy of salvation we heard about in this past Sunday’s sermon. Out of that joy comes many things and one in particular is a desire to worship with one another, even if it is in these new and differing ways. This Sunday, we continue with our phase 1 in person worship plan with one addition. As per the governor’s new order, we can increase the capacity of the number allowed in our sanctuary by five more people and still remain socially distanced and in masks. Those who can and desire to remain worshiping from home are encouraged to continue doing so by joining us virtually on Facebook or YouTube. May we not concern ourselves with other’s emotionally charged words or actions, but instead stay focused on living into the joy of our salvation and worshiping God in the ways we feel God has called us too.
In Christ Peace,
Pastor Nicki
Some helpful links…
Click on the link below near the time the service begins at 10:00am to watch the live stream https://www.facebook.com/espresbyterian/
YouTube recording can be found at https://www.espresbyterian.com/worship/ or https://www.youtube.com/user/ESPresbyterian
Additionally, bulletins and an online hymnal have been put on the website and can be found at https://www.espresbyterian.com/worship/sunday-bulletin/
