Iron Works,
Sunday after Sunday we gather together to worship God and be shaped by his love and word. This is the church’s moment. Fear and anxiety descends on the world, but our faith in Jesus has prepared us to be courageously and sacrificially loving to others. “Let us go to love our world as those who are loved by God.”
For the next three Sundays, we are going to do that in a very counter-intuitive way.
As of this afternoon Chester County has its first presumed COVID-19 case, and our county officials ask people to avoid large gatherings. So we are suspending our congregational worship for the next three Sundays (March 15, 22, and 29) and live-streaming a service.
Our mother church, Iron Works Phoenixville, has invited myself and Kate Gale, our music director, to join them for a chapel service that will be live-streamed. I’ll be leading the liturgy, Kate will co-lead the music, and Darin will be preaching. This will be a “bare bones” chapel service with no sacraments, passing the peace, or blessing of the children. This is intentional and should feel odd to you. Worshiping God physically and together is what we are made for. But, in the words of writer Rebecca McLaughlin, “It is deeply sad that the loving thing to do right now is to step back. It's in our Christian DNA to move toward others. We're called to be one body, reaching out our arms to embrace a hurting world.
But now, for one moment in an eternity of others, we must step back.”
The livestream goes live at 10:25, and will be available to watch live or even later in the day via Youtube Live. I encourage you to gather together with your family or roommates, your community group, or even your neighbors. Think about the people whom you know you will see over the next three weeks, wash your hands, clean your house, and invite them over for a home meeting.
When everything is in order, I’ll email you the livestream links and the liturgy to guide your home meeting/follow along with the live-stream.
Also, please be praying for our community. Our local officials are restricting visitors to the prison and elderly home. Pray for our health care providers and workers. Pray for parents picking their college students up from school, pray for parents whose work and livelihood are significantly impacted, and for families whose work is facing new challenges by having their children home from school for two weeks.
Let us be a house of prayer for our communities.
Pastor Robbie