Forest Lake Talks

A Message from Ellen – Covid19 update – 3-25-20

March 25, 2020

Yes, goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the Lord’s house as long as I live.

Psalm  23:6 (CEB Translation)

Dear Friends,

Your Staff and the leadership of our congregation have been working hard to adapt to daily change and uncertainty.  And, as your pastor, I have tried to take seriously our need to keep the church community going, care for our members and guests, and also to help our staff feel secure and balance family needs (especially for those who must now care for school aged children who are out of school!). 

Because we DO have the ability to work remotely (thanks to the move to Office365 earlier this year – Thank you Session!), we have begun to schedule two staff people at a time to keep our office open for essential business while minimizing their contact with each other and outside visitors.  Staff can still be reached by email (and many by cell phone), and we will hold both remote and on-site staff meetings to re-evaluate each week.  We will be working, but not always in the office.  So, please help us in these ways:

  1. Please don’t come by the church unless you have essential business that cannot be done remotely. And if you must come, please use the sanitizer and hand wipes on door handles, light switches and any hard surfaces you may touch.
  2. Please email or call the office before you come both to see if there is a remote solution to your need and also to ensure that we don’t have too many people in the office at once.
  3. If you need to meet with a staff person, please email or call and set an appointment with that person.

There are still a few very small groups who are meeting on site.  When we do that we observe the proscribed social distancing guidelines and we are also wiping down hard surfaces both before and after use.  Please help us by doing the same if you come through the office. 

Information about both ongoing church events (remote and interactive) can be found in the emails, e-newsletters, paper newsletters and on the church web page (look at the banner at the very top of the web page and also on the “Happenings” page (click the “News and Events” button).  The work of God’s Kingdom does not depend on us meeting here at church.  Keep your eyes open for ways in which we can continue to be the head, heart, and hands of Christ in the world.

A new time.  A new day.  A new way of being.

To be continued . . . . . . By God’s Grace.

Rev. Ellen Fowler Skidmore

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