First Church Family,
I pray you are doing well this week. We have entered the season of Lent together and are bound together through the daily devotions provided by many individuals in our church and produced so masterfully by our Sheila Triplett Brady, Sarah Sponenburg, and Ivey Deitz. Please make it a practice in your family to read and meditate over those daily. In that way, we will be in unity of spirit during this Holy season.
Lent is the forty days that precede Easter. It never includes Sundays, as proclamation of the Easter event is never given up on the LORD’s day for any reason. Lent is the time that we prepare our hearts for the suffering Jesus endured on our behalf, during His Passion. During the coming weeks in our worship, we will conclude our 23rd Psalm series, and then begin to walk with Jesus to the Cross.
Though things seem to be improving in our area in the number of new and hospitalized Covid cases, our medical officials continue to strongly recommend that we refrain from in person worship at the present time. People are continuing to contract the virus, and die from it.
Many in our congregation, including I, myself, have been able to get both Covid vaccines. We pray that process will continue to lessen the danger of transmitting the disease in our immediate area.
Our Safety and Reopening Team will meet again soon to asses our situation, and will then report to you concerning its recommendations. It is important to know that both our United Methodist Church Conference leadership in Charlotte and our District leadership in North Wilkesboro strongly recommend that all churches continue on in their present protocols.
On a final note: I quickly recovered from my migraine headache that came upon me Sunday morning. If you have ever had one, you know that when it gets as far as it did with me, there is little one can do but pause and rest. It am thankful for and indebted to those who stepped up to continue the service, and even preach my sermon! I am doing fine after a little bit of rest.
My prayers will be with you as you are drawn to Christ during this season.
Pastor Dave