Letter to Congregation 10-28-2020
Pastor Letter 10/28/20
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we get closer to the elections, the scripture that I keep coming back to is Joshua 1:9 “…Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” As you’ve been hearing in recent sermons, we as disciples of Christ are to choose God’s side above and beyond all other sides. This verse reminds me that even in these anxiety-driven, fearful times wondering what the country will look like after the elections, how long the election process might take, etc. we have been given the gift of knowing that we need not to let the anxiety cause us fear because God is with us wherever we go, wherever the country goes…and as such we choose God’s side.
We celebrate God’s forever presence with us in many ways, but one of those ways is through corporate worship. In worship, we are reminded through sacraments and shared liturgy that God is with us. In worship ,we praise God for this evidence of God’s Spirit’s presence. Even though we are worshiping in very different ways, in a time when it is easy to fall prey to fear, we gather this week for worship, both near and far, to celebrate God’s presence of peace among us. This Sunday we continue in phase 1 hybrid worship plan that will include the sacrament of the Lord’s supper, which is a reminder of the Triune God’s presence among us, even if we are communing together both near and far. To do this means we are asked to bring our own communion elements to whatever space you are worshiping in. As a reminder, gather the “bread”, which can be a slice of ordinary bread, a roll, cracker, cookie, goldfish cracker, etc. anything will do. Don’t feel the need to go out and purchase anything, just use whatever food item you have on hand. Also, gather the “fruit of the vine” which can be juice, wine, water or any beverage you have on hand. If you are coming to in worship in person, please also bring the elements along. However, if you forget, we do have a limited number of prepackaged elements on hand that a greeter can give you on your way in. May we come together in these very anxiety driving times and worship the God who is with us wherever we may be.
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/
