Greetings to each of you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Truly, God has brought us from a mighty long way, and we give Him all the glory! As succinctly as possible, let me address six major ecclesiastical concerns.
1. CHURCH REOPENING
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- We are preparing for two Worship Celebrations on the 1st Sunday of June (June 6th): The North Campus at 9:00 am and South Campus at 11:00 am.
- We envision each Worship Celebration being about 1 hour and 15 minutes, so we encourage everyone to arrive at least 10 minutes beforehand.
- Temperatures will be checked upon entering, social distancing will be applied where people shall sit and walk, wearing masks will be strongly encouraged, restroom use will be restricted to 2-4 people at a time (depending on the size of the restroom), congregating before and after Services will be prohibited, and other safety protocols will be applied that our county suggests.
- I am encouraged to hear how excited many are about St. John reopening, and we anticipate Spirit-filled Worship Celebrations on June 6th.
- I also respect the decision of some who do not plan to physically be present when we reopen because they are uncomfortable worshiping corporately. However, I hope to see you at St. John in the near future.
- We hope to make each Sunday’s sermon available to be heard each Sunday afternoon and thereafter via our website (sjmbc.org), and we are considering streaming services in the future.
- Be mindful that California is scheduled to reopen on June 15th. As the state reopens, our church needs to reopen for those who desire to worship corporately.
2. THE LORD’S SUPPER
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- We are scheduled to partake in The Lord’s Supper online on the 1st Sunday of June (June 6th) at 7 pm.
- I do not feel divinely led to officiate Communion in-person yet.
- I am happy about the next scheduled time because my preference has always been to serve the Lord’s Supper in the evening since this was when Jesus officiated it in the Upper Room with his 12 disciples.
- To participate, each believer will need some bread or a cracker, and each believer will need some grape juice (or something similar). For more information, you may visit our website (sjmbc.org).
3. CHURCH SCHOOL
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- Beginning Wednesday, June 9th, our Sunday School curriculum is scheduled to be taught each Wednesday evening at 7 pm after Prayer (6:30-7:00 pm).
- This means that all classes that are currently meeting Sunday mornings will convene online Wednesday evenings.
- This also means that the last online Sunday School will be Sunday, May 30th.
- We must realize that we cannot continue to have online Sunday School on Sunday mornings and in-person worship simultaneously. How can people meet online for a Sunday School class while their Sunday School teacher is at the North Campus and/or South Campus worshiping God?
- Meeting on Wednesdays instead of Sundays means that we will probably change the name (which makes sense) from Sunday School to Church School.
4. OTHER IN-PERSON GATHERINGS AND MEETINGS
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- Currently, we are only prepared for two in-person Worship Celebrations (as discussed above).
- Unfortunately, we are still not prepared to accommodate indoor funerals and weddings. This really bothers me because I still regret that we were not able in the past 14 months to have funerals in either one of our sanctuaries.
- Also, Church Ministries will continue to convene online until further notice.
5. VACCINATIONS
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- Contra Costa County is scheduled again to utilize our North Campus to administer the 2nd dosage of the Pfizer vaccine (9:00 am to 4:00 pm) on Saturday (May 29th), Tuesday (June 1st), and Wednesday (June 2th).
- We need volunteers to serve (9:00 am to 12:30 pm and/or 12:30 pm to 4:00 pm) as greeters and parking attendants, so let’s sign up online if available and interested (sjmbc.org).
6. IT’S BLESSING TIME!
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- We thank so many of you who have been supporting St. John financially, especially in the last 14 months.
- With everything that we are doing and trying to do, your financial contributions are needed.
- We currently give by mailing or dropping off our Tithes and Offerings to our St. John South Campus (662 South 52nd Street—Richmond, CA 94804) or by giving online through our website (sjmbc.org).
- If you are a member of St. John who is financially able but not supporting our church financially, allow God to bless you with more by giving today your Tithes and Offerings.
May God bless and sustain each of us.
Your Servant In Christ,
Dr. Kevin B. Hall, Pastor