We are living through unprecedented days. The leadership of Cascade Community Church desires to respond to the crisis with wisdom. The elders and I have spent time wrestling with the decision of what to do for Sunday morning church. We have decided to cancel church for the next two Sundays. Our modified church service will be made available online for you. Additionally, we will provide an at-home Kids’ Own Worship lesson for families. More details on that will be coming, so check our website, Facebook page, or your email later today.
For some of you, this may seem like a simple decision and you are wondering why it took us so long to make it. The reason is that the elders were praying and gathering as much information as possible. We want to best serve our Lord by serving you. We want to provide opportunities to participate in corporate worship and to serve our community with the love of Christ. Additionally, we wanted to be considerate to those who consider themselves vulnerable to this disease.
Flora Belzer sent me an image that expresses the quandary that we were wrestling with during the past days:
Everyone has an opinion on what is the best way to go forward, so no matter what decisions are made, some will be disappointed. I would ask that we lay aside our thoughts of what should have happened or how it should have been decided and choose to walk forward together in love for each other and for our frightened community.
Instead of meeting together this Sunday as the Church, I am asking that each of us seek Jesus on how we can be His Church, His body in our community each day. I will talk in greater detail about this in Sunday’s message and provide a starting place for each of us to fulfill our church’s mission. Please be in prayer about how the Lord would like you and your family to be part of the solution for our community going forward.
It is our intent to be back together for Palm Sunday services on Sunday, April 5, and for Easter Sunday, April 12. Obviously, that desire may be impossible to fulfill with things changing as quickly as they have been this past week. But we want to be able to bring people together as best as possible to celebrate what our Lord has done for us. Please continue to be patient as we formulate plans for those services.
Continue to be in prayer for the leadership of the church as we seek to honor the Lord. I encourage us to continue to allow God to lead us during these difficult days. My prayer for each of you is to find the truth of what David found, “For You have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy.” Psalm 61:3
God bless,
Pastor Andy & the Elders