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Church Email News May 22, 2020

ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH

Friday, May 22, 2020

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ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH

Friday, May 22, 2020

Click to open this email in your browser
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The tension is mounting. The world wants to reopen. But the world wants to stay safe. We can go out to eat—outside. We can go shopping-if we’re spaced apart. But churches? We’re supposed to be limited to gatherings of 10 people. You know what? All gatherings are limited to 10 people. It’s not like the church can’t have a full house but a giant city picnic can happen. In these strange times, we need to be conscious of what is religious persecution and what isn’t. Christian’s don’t clamor about “rights.” Rather, we serve the Lord in willing obedience and love our neighbor as best we can, trusting in the Lord’s care for us through His Son, Jesus Christ. The time is always now when those who despise Christ persecute the church. They don’t believe in Jesus and therefore they don’t like His disciples. That has always been true, virus or not. Jesus Himself says so. But He also promised His disciples the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, leads us into all truth, and comforts us in our affliction and trials. This Sunday, the Seventh and last of the Easter Season, we continue to rejoice because Christ is risen from the dead, He pours out His Spirit on the Church, and He never leaves us or forsakes us. We look to Him for all our joy and comfort, something the world can’t truly offer.

Communion Soon…

As the state moves into the next phase of reopening, it seems that churches will still be asked to have groups of no more than 10 people. In June, we’ll begin offering Communion for groups of 9 people (plus pastor makes ten). These will be very brief: confession, absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. The idea is that we continue to stream the regular service and sermon and then there will be slots in which you may schedule your time to receive the Lord’s Supper. We’ll keep it fairly simple and use all the precautions we are advised to follow. We’ll have more information over the next couple of weeks. We hunger and thirst for Jesus’ Body and Blood and, Lord willing, we will be receiving it again soon!

School End of Year Celebration Video
Check out the recap of our School Year and celebration of our students. You can watch our End of Year Celebration video on our Facebook page HERE or our YouTube Channel HERE.

Voters Meeting in June
We plan to have a Voters Meeting on Sunday, June 28 at 10:30 AM. The meeting will be via Zoom but even if you don’t have a computer, you will be able to call in like a Conference Call. We’ll have more information as the date gets closer.

Family in Need of a Car
Once again we have a (different) family in need of a reliable and inexpensive vehicle. If you know of such a vehicle or someone that has one, please let Pastor or Brandy know. We had a similar request a few weeks ago and a Zion member responded with a great deal that worked out for the person in need. Thank you!

Color A Stained Glass Window
Our church stained glass windows are turning into coloring sheets! Download the latest window HERE.

And the usual info I’ve been relaying each week:

Streaming and Recorded Video

We stream live on our FACEBOOK PAGE HERE.

Our videos are also live and recorded on YOUTUBE HERE.

The simplest way to watch online (not live) is probably through our church’s website HERE.

Make sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to our Facebook and YouTube Pages so you get updates when we go live and or add videos.

Weekly Worship Services:
Sunday, 9am – Facebook and YouTube
Wednesday, 7pm – Facebook and YouTube

Remember that all services are recorded and will be available to watch any time after they are live on our YouTube Channel or via the church’s website.

Daily Devotions
Pastor is on Facebook every day, Monday through Saturday for Daily Devotions. Tune in to start your day with the Word of God and prayer.

Bible Studies!
We are back to our regular weekly Bible Study schedule. We’re using the Zoom service where we can meet together online.

To join the meeting on your Computer (with camera and microphone) or Phone, click the link HERE.

If prompted use the following information:
Meeting ID: 815 385 0859
Password: ZionLions

If you’d like help getting this set up ahead of time, let Pastor know.

Bible Study with Zoom!

Bible Study Schedule:

Tuesday, 10:30 AM

Sunday, 8:00 AM

Learning the Faith, 10:15 AM

For Learning the Faith, children are encouraged to participate and watch along. We’ll keep the sessions shorter than in person.

Prayers for Healthcare and other “Frontline” Workers
We’re including a list of family and friends who we know are working on the “front lines” of this pandemic. If you know of healthcare workers, first responders, grocery store cashiers, and others who are out there working during all of this, please let us know so that we can compile a list of their names to bring before the Lord in our prayers. You can EMAIL, CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE OR PASTOR, or TEXT PASTOR names you would like included. Please let us know their NAME and WHERE THEY WORK.

Offerings
We ask and encourage every family to consider their offerings that they would normally give to the church. Please MAIL YOUR CHECK or set up your bank account to make a DIRECT BILL PAY to the church. I know there is a ripple effect in our economy. Please consider God’s promise that He will indeed provide us our daily bread. Our offerings help provide for our brothers and sisters in Christ through pastoral ministry and for those in need.

Portals of Prayer
If you need Portals of Prayer (or any other resources), please let the Office know and we can mail you a copy.

Do You Need a Hymnal?
If you would like to order a hymnal so that you can follow along with our services and have a resource for your prayers and devotions at home, let Brandy in the Church Office know. The standard pew edition is $20. Every home should have a hymnal! If you would like to borrow one from church, you can do that too. Just call and you can stop by to pick one up.

Pastoral Care
I’ve been calling to check in on our members. My number is:

(618) 318-3680

It’s an unusual area code (Southern Illinois) which means you might think I’m a scam caller. So if you see that number pop up, it’s just me. Please ADD ME to your Contacts so you’ll know who’s calling.

The Spirit testifies of Jesus. Wherever Jesus is being preached and proclaimed, you can be sure the Spirit will be calling sinners to repentance and faith. We are grateful that our Lord sends us the Spirit. He is the Helper, the Comforter, the Paraclete, and Advocate. Jesus has not gone away. He’s just present with us to our ears, through His Word, by which the Spirit comforts and strengthens us in the faith. “See” you online at church soon!

In Christ,
Pastor Buetow

Download this week’s Bulletin, Daily Devotions, NewsNotes and Volunteer Schedules from our website here:

This Week at Zion

Calendar

Download this week’s Bulletin, Daily Devotions, NewsNotes and Volunteer Schedules from our website here:

This Week at Zion

Calendar