Resurrection Updates

What’s Next for Resurrection?

Things are beginning to look a bit different as more and more local businesses open and community activities plan to find a way to resume. Our Mission Leadership Team, staff, and ministry leaders are focused on both the immediate and long term future of Resurrection which includes a continued evolving plan guided by the most current and accurate information. Our decisions for any in person gatherings on our campus will be guided by the strategy outlined by the ELCA, the St. Paul Area Synod, the Minnesota Department of Health and Washington County. We will continue to gather online for worship on Sunday’s and continue to reassess and communicate with you as new information comes.

We have and are experiencing great change but our mission, to call all people to a vibrant life of faith, has not changed. Resurrection’s leadership and staff are focused on that mission just as you are called into that mission as well. Yes it looks a lot different, and may look that way for some time… and we are certainly changed through this experience… however, what is also true is that God in Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

That is our rock, our foundation…

 

FAQ

WHEN WILL WE BE ABLE TO GATHER IN THE PERSON?

We hope soon! However, soon may be weeks or months. Our normal patterns for gathering in worship and in groups make churches a bit unique. Our spaces are designed to facilitate fellowship not social distancing. You should expect our in person gatherings to resume when it is determined that the health and safety of our community, as assessed by our public health officials and our Synod, will not be harmed by our doing so.

WILL OUR GATHERINGS LOOK DIFFERENT?

One of Resurrection’s strengths has always been its hospitality and we do not want to lose that identity. You make Resurrection! It is our hope that while the way we interact with others will look different, our intentional welcome will not. As you imagine though, those pieces of our worship that involve physical contact like handshakes, worship folders, communion, refreshments and child care will be very different. As this virus is also transmitted through airborne droplets, our worship through song will be different as well. Friendly faces through face masks will be the norm when we gather.

WILL WE HAVE ON CAMPUS EVENTS?

All of our on campus events have been cancelled or postponed. As of now we are not adding any permanent events to the calendar. We have such a great campus, both outdoor space and indoor space, and we love to host our membership and the community. This virus does spread through respiratory contact and we will phase opening the campus

HOW CAN WE CONNECT AND ENGAGE RIGHT NOW?

We are the body of Christ and while we are living through a massive disruption, but in many ways we are still able to connect with one another. We encourage one another through text, phone-calls, emails, and social media during normal times. We should use those tools even more in this time. Please reach out to our office if you need help or have questions. Our weekly patterns of gatherings have been disrupted but we have found new ways to gather. Join together for worship on Sunday mornings via our YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW1wzxIl5XxR61BVGINuj7g

You can also connect with us on our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/resurrection.woodbury

However each of us navigates change, any one of us can find ourselves needing support. We list here a few links, and can readily access more. The Resurrection family also includes professionals and willing listeners ready to lend an ear or offer guidance toward outside resources. Members walking through recovery are open to conversation and supportive prayer encouragers are a call away.

Our faith family includes mental health therapists, psychologists, and wellness guides. Please call the church office (651-730-1000) for more information.

Coping with COVID-19 –

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLMKUo0bk3E
• https://thewellnesssociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Coronavirus-Anxiety-Workbook.pdf 
• https://sites.google.com/apps.district833.org/middletonelementerysel/community-resources?authuser=0

Advice for Parents and Teachers –

• https://sites.google.com/apps.district833.org/middleton-sel/advice-from-tara-d

Dear Resurrection Family,

After much thought, prayer and consultation, we are going to suspend all group activities on our campus until – well we don’t know at this time. We will follow best practices as this all evolves. This includes worship, and all adult, youth and children’s programming. We’ll have to find another time in the year to eat those wonderful Lenten meals!

I am not a fan of cancelling worship and programming, so over the past several weeks the staff has been working through every scenario on how to limit contact between our folks while still being church as usual. These scenarios have included limiting hand contact in worship, encouraging those who feel ill to stay comfortable at home, suspending communion, placing hand sanitizer in strategic places, cleaning door handles every day, not passing the offering baskets, not having refreshments between worship, removing the nametag stations so folks don’t bottle up around those tables… and the list goes on. But all of those will still not give us the 6 foot perimeter that health officials are advising. So, in the name of caring for our community, being good partners and neighbors, we’ve joined lots of other faith communities by suspending worship and programming. However, while church as usual will be suspended for a time, we are still church together.

Here is how:

• Worship – we will live stream our worship and message on a YouTube channel. Russ will join me and lead us in song and worship, and we will continue our Lenten journey through the book of Jonah. The live stream will air at 10am Sunday mornings for these next few weeks. You will also be able to watch the recorded version if that 10am time doesn’t work for you. Watch for more information and details.
• Youth and Children’s programming – We will provide either a live or recorded larger group time for our Confirmation youth, and our children’s team has some fun stuff in the works as well. Small group leaders will be in touch with their youth.
• Spiritual Care – This time has been and continues to create anxiety for many of us. If you need a word of encouragement or if you find yourself stuck in your home, please reach out to the church office via email, or call 651-730-1000 before stopping in, to assure the office is staffed as our hours may fluctuate during this time. We have many people who have offered their time to help anyone in need, run errands, or just be that presence for you. Do not hesitate to reach out. God is good!
• Offering and Gifts – While we will be doing church a bit differently over these next weeks, we do need to stay on track with our financial needs and commitments. Thank you for your continued generosity! In this time, please explore giving options. And as always, you can mail your offering to the church office.

The words from Isaiah spoken thousands of years ago still ring true for us today… “8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; 9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; 10 do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” (Isa 41:8-10 NRS)

We are Resurrection people!

Blessings,
Pastor Paul