Grace

March 31, 2020

Dear Members of Grace Lutheran Church,

    Following the guidelines set forth by Governor Walz and the CDC, and in conversation between the staff and Church Council, a difficult decision has been made that Grace Lutheran Church’s building will continue to be on lockdown through at least Easter of this year. In the midst of COVID-19, and for the sake of the neighbor, we will not be holding worship in Grace Lutheran’s building for this Holy Week and Easter. I’m sure it is hard to imagine an Holy Week and Easter apart from the building where we have celebrated Christ’s journey to the cross and empty tomb for many years.

    Yet, it’s important to keep two things in mind. When Jesus originally made his way into Jerusalem, to the upper room where he celebrated the Lord’s Supper with his disciples one last time, to the cross and tomb, and then resurrection, none of this was originally dependent upon a building. So, this year,  we will celebrate Holy Week and Easter online. We will continue to worship online until such time as Governor Walz and the CDC advise this.
    
In these weeks ahead, you can expect:
Pastor Paul will preach and lead condensed worship services over Facebook Live at 8 a.m. on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. For both services, we are working on a plan in which Jacki Peterson will play music for the services. Kelly Kehr and maybe one other person will also take part in these two services. These services will play on KBEK radio at the usual time (10 a.m.) on those Sunday mornings.
During Holy Week, Pastor Paul will lead a 20-30 minute devotion on Facebook Live on Monday. Kelly Kehr will lead a Children’s Sermon on Tuesday and on Maundy Thursday. On Good Friday, Pastor Paul will preach and lead a condensed service. These Facebook Live services and devotions are available on Grace Lutheran’s Facebook page, and will also be placed on Grace Lutheran Church’s website and YouTube channel.

While this is an uncharted set of circumstances that lead us to provide worship and devotions in these ways, we want you to know how committed we are to making sure you have a unique experience of walking with Jesus from Jerusalem to the cross, and, ultimately, to the empty tomb of Easter morning. We do this because we hold a deep belief that Jesus’s death and resurrection are the absolute center of who we are as a congregation. To worship together, even virtually, is to bear witness to the power of God’s love to destroy the power of sin and death. We invite you, therefore, to not only join us in worship, but to also invite others around this good news as well.

In this season of uncertainty, we invite you to consider joining us in bearing witness to God’s love loose in the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We invite you to join us in mission and ministry by sharing with your congregation financial offerings which allow us to continue to provide vital ministry in all its forms, even in this unprecedented time. You may send your offering to the church by way of snail mail (Mora’s post office will hold on to the offering until our dedicated and faithful office staff can pick it up). Or, you can give online. We are thankful for your faithful giving. We are thankful for you!

In all things, friends, we give thanks for our life together with you in Christ. Please know we pray for you. And know, whatever you are facing in these days, our risen Lord Jesus Christ walks alongside you.

In the power of Christ’s resurrection,



Pastor Paul Lutter