In-Person Worship CaNCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

To prevent the spread of Covid-19, Bishop Elaine Stanovsky has directed local churches of any size and other ministries in the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to suspend in-person worship and other non-essential ministries through the end of April. You can read Bishop Elaine's email to this effect here.


This means we will not hold in-person worship through the end of April! Small groups, ministry teams, or other non-essential meetings from Audubon Park UMC that gather at the church have been canceled or moved online. If you're wondering if your meeting or gathering is canceled contact your leader or email Laura at laura@audubonparkumc.org. Gatherings that take place off-site should be done with caution and at your discretion. At this time, these practices will be in effect until at least April 30. We will keep you up to date as information changes and with any decisions regarding church activities. 


We'll communicate updates and additional information as it becomes available on facebook, here on the website and via email. For pastoral care concerns contact Pastor Glenn or Pastor Geoff (geoff@audubonparkumc.org). 


Below you'll find details on some of the ways that our church is responding to our current situation. 

COmmunity & Worship in a Covid-19 World

CORONA-VIRUS RESOURCES & IDEAS
We've put together a page on our website filled with ways to grow in your faith and support the church's ministries, and serve others in love in this difficult time. This is a growing list and we'd love to share any ideas you may have. Just email Pastor Geoff with your ideas and resources. 


ONLINE WORSHIP ON SUNDAYS AT 10:30 AM
Your pastors and a small team of staff and volunteers will get together every Sunday for as long as needed in order to livestream an online worship experience of Sunday Mornings. Those will happen through YouTube Live and Facebook Live, and can be accessed on the church website, the church's YouTube Channel, or the church's Facebook Page. 

Usually, the stream will start about five minutes early, to allow time for people to find the stream and get comfy. It should last about 45-60 min, but the feed WILL run about 10 minutes longer, so that people can “fellowship” in the comments a little bit. You'll need a YouTube account to make comments on YouTube and a Facebook account to make comments on YouTube. Both are free and fairly easy to set up. If you watch the sermon from the website, we'd appreciate you filling out an online connection card so that we'll know you were with us. 

If you can't watch the service live, you will be able to view the entire service on the church's YouTube page. You can also watch the sermon on the sermon page of the church's website. In fact, last Sunday's sermon is already up and you can find the YouTube link to watch the entire service in the description.


CHILDREN'S MINISTRY ONLINE

Visit our Online Children's Ministry page to join us for a weekly Audubon Park Kids Zoom and for weekly bible lessons with videos and activities for families to do at home. Email Pastor Geoff for the password to access this part of our website. 


FOOD MINISTRY PROGRAMS

We have made the difficult decision to close the Tuesday Breakfast Program through the end of April in order to continue to serve our community through the Audubon Park Food Bank. We'll be drastically changing the way we distribute food, moving to a sort of "drive through" model for most clients. The Food Bank is open on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the Month and preparations happen on the Monday before. If you'd like to help, please email our Food Bank Director, Karen Peacock, to make sure we have room for you. We need to limit the number of volunteers to allow for the appropriate physical distancing to prevent the spread of Corona-virus. Click here for more info on our Food Bank.

WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY ON THURSDAYS AT 11 AM
I know that this will seem last minute for many of you but we've been trying to get this all set up. On Thursdays, I'll be leading a weekly Bible Study on The Walk by Adam Hamilton, our Lenten Study book and also the book that our current sermons series is based on. If you don't have a copy of the book yet it's available as a hardback from most major booksellers including Amazon and Barnes & Noble and is available on Kindle and Nook as well. 

This Bible Study will be available on ZOOM and Facebook Live. ZOOM will allow those with webcams to participate in conversation together. You can also call into zoom on using your telephone, the details will be below. If you you're okay with just watching and not joining in the conversation, you'll also be able to watch on Facebook Live. There you will be limited to writing comments, though I'll be monitoring those during the Bible Study as well. 

Join to join the zoom call on your computer go to https://greaternw.zoom.us/j/457040171

You can also join the call by phone. Just dial one of the following phone numbers and enter the Meeting ID:  457 040 171
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

MIDWEEK VESPERS

Beginning on April 15, Pastor Geoff will lead a short mid-week Vespers service with music, scripture, prayer and a short reflection. 


CALLING COMMUNITIES
We're working to create small groups within the church for this season that we've named "Calling Communities." We hope to roll these out sometime next week. Each group will have a leader who will reach out to connect with you to check-in and create community. Some groups may call each other regularly to visit and socialize. Others may want to set up a Zoom Call or Google Hangout to communicate. While we are being asked to remain physically distant during this crisis, this is one way we hope to create community and build relationships. 

ERRANDS & GROCERIES
During the time of shutdown and isolation, if you are especially vulnerable or susceptible to ANY disease, please let us know if we can go make a grocery run for you. Send us a list and we’ll shop, OR the best way to go about it is to submit an online order through one of the supermarkets that does online ordering, and we’ll pick up the groceries for you. Let us help!

Want to help with this? Please email Pastor Geoff to get added to the list of Shoppers and Errand Runners! Pastor Geoff will contact you with the name and phone number of someone who needs your help. 


TITHES & OFFERINGS
This may seem like a small thing in the grand scheme right now, but trust me. It matters that you continue to get your offering in, as long as you are fiscally able. This is a great time to check out the online giving options, or set up online bill pay through your bank. Even the healthiest congregations can find themselves in the hole, and quick, after just a few Sundays of missed offerings. If you can’t give online, mail in a check, send a carrier pigeon, do what you have to do. We even have a new giving app called Give+ from Vanco for iPhone and Android phones. Even if the building is empty, bills and salaries need to be paid; what’s more, you’re helping our church maintain mission commitments to the community in a time when that commitment is more important than ever.