Hello Friends!
Long before medical science, the Old Testament mandated laws for good hygiene and community health through quarantine: Leviticus 13. I understand the difficulty of not having in-person gatherings at church but as United Methodist people of faith, we want to be good neighbors and do our part to care for and keep our neighbors healthy and safe. Governor Whitmer’s order to stay-at-home for three weeks will take us through Holy Week and Easter Sunday. So we will have all Holy Week services online. (Worship Services via Livestream)
In the meantime we will continue to hold online worship services—live streamed in our Grace UMC Group and shared on our public Facebook page—until it is deemed safe to gather again. If you want to stay digitally connected with the church, I encourage you to join our closed/ private Facebook group. You will need a Facebook account, which is free and customizable to your level of sharing and privacy. Or you can continue to follow our online services on our public Facebook page, where you do not need a Facebook account. You can find the public page by entering in the following web address: www.facebook.com/LGUMC1
As we continue in our Lenten journey of gratitude, I encourage you to keep working on your gratitude journal. If you don’t have one, it’s never too late to start one! Keep giving thanks and praise for all God has done in your life and continues to do. Use gratitude to ward off the negativity, anxiety, and feelings of depression we are prone to during these difficult days.
These are unprecedented times and we want to continue to raise awareness without unnecessarily raising anxiety. Continue to pray for those affected by COVID-19, those who have to continue working in fields that are deemed essential for living, and those who are quarantined at home who may not be well connected with others.
Keep safe, stay healthy, and maintain your sanity through our God and Jesus Christ!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Paul
