Updates
6/5 | Letter from Session and the Pastors – COVID-19 Update
Dear Friends in Christ:
We miss you and pray for you daily. May you sense God’s nearness, love, and grace.
Many of you may be thinking about when and how we will return to in-person worship. Initially, we used the Governor of Virginia’s Virginia Forward timeline as a benchmark by which to guide our decision making regarding the resumption of in-person worship as well as other activities. After further consideration, we have decided to make decisions for our congregation and community independently of the Virginia Forward timeline. We believe we know our congregation and community better than others. As you may be aware, there have been congregations who have resumed in-person worship, observed all the precautionary measures, and still became sources of an outbreak.
In a called meeting on May 27, we explored the values that we cherish that guide us in our decision making. Our primary value is love of God and love of neighbor as Jesus commanded in the gospels. The gospels tell us that unless we love our neighbor we cannot love God. Another value is the best medical and scientific information available to us.
We decided that resumption of indoor in-person worship and other in-person activities at present risks harming not only members of our congregation but members of the community at large and especially the most vulnerable members of our community, namely older adults and those with underlying health conditions. Also, in-person worship and other activities at present would exclude a significant portion of our congregation due to distancing requirements and the restrictions on the number of persons who can gather safely. Although information about COVID-19 is fluid and updated regularly, medical scientists tell us that there are two constants: COVID-19 is highly contagious and it is transmitted readily and easily in groups of people who are indoors together for prolonged periods of time.
We will resume indoor in-person worship and other activities on our campus when it is safe and reasonable to do so. Resuming in-person activities will require that we have in place all the proper measures to reduce the risk of infection as much as possible. We thank you for your prayers for us as we seek to be led by the Holy Spirit and one another’s counsel in this challenging time in not only our nation’s history but world history.
In an email thread and at our called meeting we explored why we have made this decision to be cautious. In the words of one of our elders, it’s because “We believe that all human life is important and we want to love and honor all persons and not put anyone at risk. We believe that God is at work in our current ministries and that we can continue to share the love of Christ and further Christ’s kingdom in ways that don’t necessitate us gathering in person until it is safe to do so. We believe that our seasonal ministry and this creative approach in collaboration with our church staff can offer opportunities for church participants to be involved and engaged. We believe that we can connect people to Christ and one another in all kinds of ways that are still unknown to us as we continue to pray and take God’s lead in finding God’s way.”
Until we can safely return to worshipping together in person there are many other ways to stay connected. Online worship is every Sunday at 11:00 a.m. at fpcwinc.org/virtual, facebook.com/firstpresbyterianchurchwinchester, and youtube.com/user/FirstPresWinc Each service is also available for viewing any time after it has premiered. Dan and Amanda post devotions daily on Facebook and the church website and lead Thursday evening prayer on our Facebook page. Amanda is leading a Sunday evening virtual Bible study. Annie is interacting with our youth twice weekly via Zoom. Todd is engaging our children and their families with regular faith formation activity packets and Zoom meetings. Our Seasonal Teams are exploring outdoor worship as well as outdoor service opportunities. We continue to check in with persons via telephone. Amanda is beginning a “driveway visit” ministry. Also, sermons are being mailed USPS to those who do not use email or the internet. To receive a mailed sermon, please call the church office at 662-3824. Please feel free to contact us about any matter at 540-662-3824 or fpcwinc.org/about/staff At present, our staff continues to telework to minimize the risk of infection. The staff checks its email and voicemail regularly.
As much as we would like to put the pandemic on our timeline, the best we can do is respond to its timeline and do so safely. Stay tuned for further updates.
God’s peace,
The Session
Dan McCoig, Pastor
Amanda Maguire Thomas, Associate Pastor
5/6 | Letter from Session and the Pastors on the resumption of worship
Original May 10 deadline on the suspension of on-campus church activities has been extended to abide by the Governor’s Executive Order 55.
Resumption of church activities will occur, with guidelines and limitations, the first Sunday of Phase II, when announced by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Read more and the details here.
5/5 | CCAP Continues to meet Community Needs During the Pandemic
In mid-March, CCAP suspended service at their building and diverted deliveries to other pantries in the Winchester/Frederick County area. Since then, several drive-by food giveaways have taken place, but to date, the building remains closed for their normal services.
As you may have seen, the CCAP President, Frances Salmon has resigned her position to spend more time with her family. Frances had been spending 50 – 60 hours a week at CCAP in addition to her two other jobs. According to the CCAP Bylaws, the Vice President, Robin Russell has stepped in to fulfill the duties of the President. Robin is working with the Board of Directors and the Trustees (Representatives from each of the member Churches) to transition back to full services.
There are two distributions scheduled for the month of May. On Saturday, May 9 from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, CCAP will hold a Community Food Distribution at the CCAP building. 300 – 400 Bags of food will be prepared in advance to give to anyone who needs food. They do not need to be CCAP clients.
On Saturday, May 16, CCAP will hold a Diaper Giveaway for CCAP clients only with more details available soon.
FPC CCAP Representative, Peggy Clark, has been working with Robin and members of the Board and other Trustees to clean, sort, reorganize, and brainstorm toward CCAP’s full opening. Lots of volunteers will be needed in the coming weeks to prepare for giveaways, and then ultimately to volunteer when the CCAP building is reopened. Please e-mail Peggy if you might be able to volunteer a few hours at CCAP. All volunteer opportunities will have a limited number of people in the building with masks required. Many other Churches are sending teams of people to help out, and we hope that First Presbyterian can form a core team that will help through the transition and beyond. Please e-mail Peggy Clark at friendsofpeggyclark@verizon.
Getting Help – Contact United Way NSV
FOOD RESOURCES UPDATED 5/5 | Original Post 3/27, 11:45am
Jubilee Kitchen is still on-going but at this time, no dine-in – TAKE AWAY MEALS ONLY
Jubilee Kitchen is held on Saturdays for guests at 11:30 a.m.
3/24, 12:00pm
In times like these, stress goes up, and if anyone needs to talk with someone, find a referral, etc., there are Hotlines in our area and nationwide.
Disaster Stress Hotline 800-985-5990
Northern Shenandoah Valley- concernhotline.org
CLARKE & FREDERICK COUNTIES, WINCHESTER CITY
SHENANDOAH COUNTY
540-459-4742
PAGE COUNTY
540-743-3733
WARREN COUNTY
540-635-4357
ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY – 855-222-2046
3/17, 2:00pm
Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. [Psalm 31:24]
Friends:
If it seems like you are getting a lot of emails from me, well, you are. This pandemic in which we find ourselves is a fluid and ever-changing situation. Initially, the CDC was asking organizations to not gather for the next two weeks. Over the weekend, they issued a new recommendation asking organizations not to gather for the next months.
After prayer and thoughtful deliberation and with deep regret but a sense that we are doing the right thing, our elected leadership, the Session has acted to suspend all church activities through May 10 in order to comply with the newest CDC recommendation as well as an act of Christian love towards neighbors. The goal is to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and not overwhelm our health care system with new infections. Halting the spread of the coronavirus requires a community effort. If new information arises that allows us to resume gathering in person, we will rescind this action and resume in-person gatherings.
Over the course of the next two months, we may be separated physically from one another but not spiritually. We are still the church and will remain the church. God has yet more for us to be and do. God is far from finished with us. Let’s not forget this. Let’s practice this.
Our staff and session are exploring new and different ways to be and do church – mission, worship, education, pastoral care, service, outreach, stewardship . . . Stay tuned. This is our first pandemic. We are all learning.
A worship service will be broadcast each Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Please tune in and worship with your brothers and sisters, albeit online. Though online, God will still be worshiped, Christ will still be present, and the Holy Spirit will still come. You will receive a link to the service in your Friday eNotice. The link will be posted to the church’s Facebook group and organization pages as well. Each worship service will remain at the link after the broadcast if 11:00 a.m. on a Sunday doesn’t work for you.
I will reiterate what I shared in a previous post:
— Support our church’s elected leaders and staff. We have been making some hard decisions on the fly without a roadmap. We are learning to lean ever more closely on God and one another more and more as we lead in this crisis. We are humbled by the trust you place in us to lead well and wisely.
— Maintain your giving to the church according to your ability. Our financial obligations remain as does yours – mission commitments, staff salaries, utilities, insurance, planned maintenance of a sizeable facility. You can send your offering via USPS [116 S. Loudoun St., Winchester, VA 22601] or you can give electronically using the “Donate” button on our website [https://fpcwinc.org/stewardship/donate/]. Thank you.
— Check on your neighbors. There are folks who are impacted harshly by the disruptions of this pandemic than others. They need us and we can help. Stay tuned to your email and our social media presence for ways to help.
— Pray for your church family. Make phone calls. Send emails. Write and send cards. Let folks know they are remembered and loved.
— Practice Sabbath. Set aside time to be with God, to be silent, to listen for the whispers of the Spirit, to release your anxiety and fear, to renew, to rest.
I will to close with a prayer from our PCUSA co-moderators, Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and Cindy Kohlman. Please pray it as well.
We ask for calm, assurance, and strength.
May we all remember that, in the midst of any crisis,
Your grace reaches us,
Your hope enlightens us,
And Your love surrounds us all. Amen.
Dan and Amanda
The Session
3/16, 2:00pm
Normal Church Office Hours have been suspended until further notice (as outlined in the letter dated on 3/14)
If you need to contact a member of staff, please refer to this page for staff members’ e-mail addresses. If you need further assistance, send an e-mail to info@fpcwinc.org
Stay engaged online with FPC. On this page, we have traditionally posted our worship bulletins and videos-and we will continue to do so-but we are also using this space as our virtual church.
3/14, 3:30pm
Friends:
It’s not an easy thing to suspend church activities, especially worship. When life is disrupted by something on the order of a pandemic which can foster fear, we want and need to gather to encourage and support one another and sense the Holy Spirit in and among us. That’s part of what Christian community is all about. But, with an infectious disease, getting together is the worst thing we can do. It can harm our neighbors and ourselves.
In the interest of everyone’s health and well-being as well as in the interest of loving our neighbor, our Session has acted to suspend all activities on our campus and in our buildings through March 28 effectively immediately with two exceptions. One, our 12 Step Groups that meet weekly in Donegal House [we will require them to disinfect the room before and after each use]. And, two, Jubilee Kitchen will operate differently – our guests will not dine-in in the Fellowship Hall, they will be provided with take-away meals.
Our staff will be working from home over the next two weeks. Our Google Suites applications make this possible. Also, we will livestream worship elements on March 22 at 11:00 a.m. via our Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/firstpresbyterianchurchwinchester/]
Even though we will not be seeing each other in person, we are still God’s church. Here are some ways we can be God’s church during this time of the coronavirus pandemic:
— Support our church’s elected leaders and staff. We have been making some hard decisions on the fly without a roadmap. We are learning to lean ever more closely on God and one another more and more as we lead in this crisis. We are humbled by the trust you place in us to lead well and wisely.
— Maintain your giving to the church. Our financial obligations remain – mission commitments, staff salaries, utilities, insurance, planned maintenance of a sizeable facility. You can send your offering via USPS [116 S. Loudoun St., Winchester, VA 22601] or you can give electronically using the “Donate” button on our website [https://fpcwinc.org/stewardship/donate/]. Thank you.
— Check on your neighbors. There are folks who are impacted more harshly by the disruptions of this pandemic than others. They need us and we can help. Stay tuned to your email and our social media presence for ways to help.
— Pray for your church family. Make phone calls. Send emails. Write and send cards. Let folks know they are remembered and loved.
— Practice Sabbath. Set aside time to be with God, to be silent, to listen for the whispers of the Spirit, to release your anxiety and fear, to renew, to rest.
May this pandemic be mitigated and eventually extinguished sooner rather than later and with a minimal loss of precious human life. And, never forget, that our God promises to be with us always and bids us not to fear but to instead love.
God’s peace,
Dan and Amanda
The Session
FROM THE CHURCH OFFICE
Off-Site Meetings and Events that are Canceled through March 28:
Women’s Retreat, Men’s Tuesday Morning Breakfasts, and Men’s 3rd Saturday Breakfast. This list will be updated as information is received.
To check on updates from FPC:
- “Like” and follow our Facebook page
- Follow us on Twitter
- Like us on Instagram
- Subscribe or Update your contact info for the eNotice
- Check our website for updates
3/13, 4:00pm
Friends: All church activities for Sunday, March 15 have been canceled in the interest of public health and loving our neighbor. Additional activities the week of March 16 and beyond may be canceled as well. We will notify you as soon as any cancellations are made. Please practice the CDC guidelines of hand-washing and social distancing to keep yourself well and to keep your neighbor well.
Peace. Dan McCoig, for the session.
CANCELLATIONS for Sunday, March 15
7:30am Chapel Worship Service
8:30am Contemporary Worship Service
9:45am Sunday School
11am Sanctuary Worship Service
UpNext, Youth Choir, and Youth Group
Ministry or Team meetings
CANCELLATION for Tuesday, March 17
11am Deriters Program: Glenn Galuda
CANCELLATION for Friday March 20-Sunday March 22
Women’s Retreat
Contact Amy Bowman if you have questions. amy@fpcwinc.org
CANCELLATION for Monday, March 16-Friday March 27
Classes not in session for the Weekday School, in following Frederick County Public Schools operation status. Questions or concerns can be directed to Christen Johnson, Director of the Weekday School christen@fpcwinc.org
3/13, 12:45pm The Weekday School’s operation protocol is to follow Frederick County Public Schools’operation status. FCPS are closed through March 27. Therefore, the Weekday School will not be in session through March 27. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Director of the Weekday School, Christen Johnson: christen@fpcwinc.org
- Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds
- Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of your elbow
- Stay home when sick
- Older adults and persons with underlying conditions should avoid crowds, everyone else should stay six feet apart from others
