Letter from Pastor Scott and the ACTS Group

Dear Members and Friends of Advent Lutheran Church, Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another. Heb 10:23-25a God is faithful, and our help comes from Him (Ps. 121:2)!  I thought I would be sending out a letter informing of our return to in-person worship in May of this year, but as a grand understatement—2020 has certainly become an uncertain year! We definitely WANT to get back into church for worship to meet together in the name of the Lord, our Savior, but we also WANT to do so in the safest manner possible. This letter is being sent to help answer some questions you may have regarding Advent’s return to in-person worship in light of the CoVid-19 pandemic. After seeing that we would not be able to return to worship as quickly as we hoped, the Advent Coronavirus Team of Safety (ACTS) group was formed. Our capable and selfless team (Made up of church leaders, medical and mental health professionals, science experts, educational experts, parents/grand-parents, and people of varying ages) has met on a regular basis via Zoom to cautiously and compassionately review the medical and educational updates, as well as using guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)CDC Coronavirus Updates Link and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) NC CoVid-19 Updates Link. Additionally, we have looked Internationally at LCMS Pandemic Info Link; Regionally at Southeastern District of the LCMS CoVid-19 Resource Link; and Locally at Chapel Hill and surrounding communities and churches, and considered how all the various virus matters relate to us, especially as we ponder how we may gather together safely as a larger group once again. We understand that this situation has caused some frustration, especially as we have seen some churches get back to live worship, but we are looking at what is best for Advent Lutheran Church and our worshiping community. Thank you for your patience, understanding, prayers and support. Thank you also for your faithful generosity as well. God is at work! Let us continue to be a unified front for the Lord as we fight the assaults of the devil who prowls around as a roaring lion. In consideration of the large number of vulnerable/high-risk worshipers at Advent and the above referenced guidelines, a determination to pause any in-person worship has been made until further notice.  This decision was not made lightly and does have the support of the Church Council. Though the situation has definitely been tough (One of our leaders has compared this to building an airplane while we are in the air), the ACTS group has also spent considerable time and effort determining what the seating arrangement will be in the sanctuary, removing the hymnals, Bibles and fellowship pads, placing signs in areas to be closed, and placing markings to control social distancing (Or as we like to call it Physical Distancing—since we really desire to remain close socially as a Family of God).                                 We are planning to prepare a video before we re-open to provide a preview of what to expect when arriving for in-person worship. A few things to note: We will have a Sign-Up Genius (To schedule individuals, couples and families for worship); We’ll keep attendance so that we can track and trace, should someone become ill; We’ll ask that you would stay at home if feeling sick; We are expecting that all worshipers wear masks/face coverings in the interest of everyone’s safety; We will only softly respond in the Worship Service to limit the amount of airborne particles we produce; We will have a lead singer; We hope to limit our moving around; Etcetera.  Communion is a blessed sacrament and if someone wishes to partake of the Lord’s Body and Blood prior to our getting back into in-person worship, please contact me or one of the elders and we will arrange it for you. We are exploring various safe methods for the distribution of communion as a group. Members of the ACTS group are available to discuss any of your concerns or questions: Pastor Scott scott_lohman@sbcglobal.net 919-590-5931 Dave Neely dave.neely@hotmail.com 919-241-3547 John Cangelosi canjello@gmail.com 919-537-8384 Peggy Earnhardt pjearnhardt@triad.rr.com 919-563-2855 Jon Fischer jonf5555@gmail.com 919-528-2886 Dr. Tim Hoffman tmhncch@gmail.com 919-929-8657 John Stow johnstow@nc.rr.com 919-933-2005 Carolyn and Craig Walker carolyn.walker814@gmail.com 919-724-6970 Dr. April Welborn wobegon223@yahoo.com 919-402-4730 Please continue to pray for the discernment and wisdom of our Lord for the ACTS group as decisions are made for the safe and careful return to in-person worship. On-line worship services will continue on YouTube (Search for Advent Lutheran Church Chapel Hill) or by looking on our website: Advent’s Website. Additionally, Bible Class continues to meet via Zoom. We meet on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and we will take a brief look at the Book of Ruth, before we continue looking at God’s people who turned to their own ways doing as they saw fit. Here is the link: Zoom Link for Wednesday Bible Class Meeting ID: 879 0248 4098Passcode: 354976Or call  +1 646-558-8656 (US), to get into the meeting via telephone. In addition, opportunities to show our love and serve our neighbors during this time will continue to be posted in the weekly announcements. I hope you are encouraged to continue to grow in the Lord and make Him known within your family and community. Blessings to you always,   Rev. R. Scott Lohman and ACTS  scott_lohman@sbcglobal.net  919-590-5931

On-Line Worship – Sunday Worship Services are on-line. We continue with our Virtual Worship Services. An email will go out Sunday with our Worship Service. You may also check our YouTube Channel: Advent Lutheran Church Chapel Hill or take a look at the Website: www.AdventLutheranCH.org.

Lumberton: A New Opportunity to Help – Pastor Greg Williamson, who also teaches at Lumberton High School, has forwarded information that one of his fellow teachers has lost her home and all possessions to a house fire. She and her three children are safe. The Red Cross has provided some help and put them up in a hotel. 

To help, please contact Carolyn Jones (Mission/Outreach Board) for information about the family and where to send a donation. Email Carolyn at cmfpjones@yahoo.com or call/text her cell at 919-810-2460.

Join us this Wednesday “VIRTUALLY!” for our Bible Class – Join us on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. We are now looking at the Book of Ruth. 

Advent Lutheran is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Bible Study

Time: August 19, 2020 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/87902484098?pwd=Z3E1Kzk4N0t0UzJUSEZJT09TbTkyQT09

Meeting ID: 879 0248 4098

Password: Contact Pastor Scott at scott_lohman@sbcglobal.net for the password.

Dial by your location

        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

Meeting ID: 879 0248 4098

Password: Contact Pastor Scott.

Contact me by email if you can’t get in! Pastor Scott

Helping Those in Need During CoVid-19 – We continue to reach out during this time and we have checked with PORCH (People Offering Relief for Chapel Hill-Carrboro Homes).  The best way to work with them as we are in this pandemic, is to go directly to their website:   www.chapelhill.porchcommunities.org Then, click on the floating banner in red, which says Click here for how to help during COVID-19 crisis. They accept financial donations, they then safely provide to those who are in need of help. For non-perishable food donations, they are referring people to places we have worked with before, such as:  Inter-faith Council For Social  Services  http://www.ifcweb.org and Orange Congregations In Mission www.ocimnc.org. Thanks for continued to care for our community!