Dear Church Family,
We once again need to deal with this Coronavirus thing: the anxieties, the concerns, the health risks, and all that goes along with that.
While we’re not afraid of this (God hasn’t called us to that—see 2 Timothy 1:7), we do share a concern about its spread, and especially if it is spread because of our actions. So (here it comes!)– for the month of March Mariners will not be holding in-person worship services, children’s gatherings, or youth events.
So we’re cancelling church? Church can’t be cancelled. Church is not a building or a service. A church is the ‘called out’ people of God who are living for him in this place. You can’t cancel that! God has given us the freedom to meet wherever and whenever we want.
Um, so are we meeting at all? That’s a good question. We are going to be streaming our services and we can watch them together on Sunday mornings. It will be OUR worship team, OUR worship, and I’ll be giving the message (which gives you the opportunity to fast forward through the boring parts…).
Are we becoming too afraid of the Coronavirus and shouldn’t we be putting our faith in God? No and yes. We’re not afraid of this virus, but we do realize that our actions have consequences and we want to do our part in making sure people are safe. The faith part is trusting that God HAS a plan, His kingdom WILL come, His Church WILL grow, and He is doing WAY MORE than we can ask or think.
I told you this email is LONG! And guess what? There will be more emails from staff and from us as we give you more and more info about how to view and participate in the service, youth events, and kids’ activities.
If you have any thoughts, let me know. Pray that this opens up a BUNCH of things for Jesus.
I love being your pastor!
Paul