I’ve uploaded a sermon to YouTube for Palm Sunday, but I know people are eager to see one another face to face so I’ve scheduled a ZOOM meeting for Sunday 4/5 at 1 pm. Details are below. Click on the link to join.

 

Topic: Palm Sunday Gathering
Time: Apr 5, 2020 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/613506676?pwd=REZEd3FicmlZbVB4MHhwZkNtMVVmUT09

Meeting ID: 613 506 676
Password: 229775

Normally we would be preparing to come together in worship for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Holy Friday and Easter Sunday, but this year we cannot do that in the way we are used to. It can feel like a dark time for us spiritually.

But the story of Holy Week is the story of light conquering darkness, life conquering death, and God’s creative Spirit breaking forth to re-create and restore.

Out of the darkness of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spirit is calling to us as well. The Spirit of God is whispering to us, reminding us that God is not in one particular place, but available to us everywhere. As scripture reminds us, the Kingdom of God is within us – as near as our next breath.

In that same holy, creative Spirit, I want to share a few resources with you that you can use in your homes to celebrate the story of Holy Week.

For Maundy Thursday, gather around the table with those in your home (or virtually via web-chat) and join in this simple liturgy.

On Good Friday, pause to remember the crucifixion with this simple service.

For parents with young children, here is an excellent family devotion for Easter morning.

Also, for everyone, the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church will be livestreaming a conference-wide Easter Worship Service on Easter morning at 9am and 11am. Join in live here at those times to hear a message from our Bishop Hope Morgan Ward.

While this is not a normal Holy Week, we trust that God’s creative spirit is still at work bringing light from the darkness. I hope these resources will help you to experience that light.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Jim

Ayden United Methodist Church Family,

As we are currently doing our best to love our neighbors by social distancing (I know that feels like an oxymoron) we are doing our best to monitor the ongoing situation and make appropriate plans for worship in the weeks ahead as we approach Easter. While we are eager to gather again in person, with the revelation that COVID-19 has now been confirmed in Pitt County this may in fact be the time when we care for one another best by remaining physically distant for just a while longer.

We want to do our best to steward the health and safety not only of ourselves, but also those in our communities, and particularly those who are most at risk.

We are thankful for your patience and your creativity while we practice being the Body of Christ apart from one another. Please check back here regularly for information about worship, service, and life together during this uncertain time.

 

Grace and peace,

Pastor Jim

https://aydenumc.org/2020/03/20/2383/

Dear United Methodist friends,

We continue to pray and witness in the name of Jesus Christ, our Great Physician, and Healer, as we receive updates regarding the spread of COVID-19 in North Carolina.

I urge you to cease public worship and other gatherings in your church through the next two weeks in order to protect your church family and the community in which you live and serve. Bishop Paul Leeland makes today this same request to the churches in Western North Carolina.

Public health leaders help us realize that we are on the cusp of a significant increase in the contagious virus. Social distancing is the most effective means of slowing the spread of the disease.

“For social distancing to be effective, it must begin early—so early that it may feel unneeded and silly. If we wait until its need is obvious, it is too late. The faith community has an important role to play in slowing the speed of disease transmission. Large gatherings of people are a petri dish for spreading the infection. For a period of time, I strongly urge our religious communities to suspend traditional services and gatherings and find other ways to practice and sustain our faith. Our witness and our example may save many lives, especially the lives of those at risk in our own congregations.” – Dr. Wes Wallace*

Where small groups or classes are essential to wellbeing, be vigilant as such groups meet in cleansed spaces, seated with distance between participants, with particular care for those who are older or who have health vulnerabilities.

Thank you for your creativity as we continue to strengthen the church through our prayers, our presence in expanded ways with one another, our gifts, our service, and our witness. We will share radiant examples of your ministry in this new and challenging time in order to foster creativity and to encourage one another.

May the Church of Jesus Christ rise anew with courage and creativity in this time of challenge, shining as light in a wounded, fearful world.

With gratitude for your ministry,

Hope Morgan Ward

*Dr. Wes Wallace is an adjunct professor of emergency medicine at the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is the medical director of State Medical Assistance Team 2, based at the University of North Carolina and a medical officer in NC-1, the federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team based in North Carolina. He is a member of University United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill.