On behalf of the entire staff I want to thank our church family and friends for the gracious and supportive way you have accepted all the Covid 19 changes at James Island Baptist. We are so grateful for the positive feedback on our efforts. No system is perfect, but we are aiming for perfection wherever possible. We bless your decision whether it is to stay home or attend. We are praying for the day we can re-gather altogether, one church family in one location!
As I have said before, I know we have a variety of opinions about this pandemic. Some believe it is totally a hoax, a government conspiracy and that there should be no more reaction to Covid 19 than to any flu season. There are others on the opposite extreme who believes Covid 19 is as bad as they say it is and they are on maximum alert for how to avoid getting it. And then you have everything in between. There appears to be no letting up in the near future, so we are preparing for the long run. I suspect we will be doing health screenings as a part of attending worship for a while. I know that seems invasive to some. We understand that you may not want to have your temperature taken or answer basic wellness questions. That is ok. We bless you in your decision to stay at home until the situation changes. I do believe, with everything that is in me, that the overwhelming majority of our church family and friends appreciate the effort to help bless our church family.
Until today, we use to be able to say no one in our direct church family has Covid 19. That is not true any longer. It has moved from those that are in our circle of friends into our circle! Just remember we were always told it is not a matter of “if” you will get Covid 19 but “when”. So, let us do what we should have been doing all along. Wash your hands often and thoroughly; if you have a temperature, stay home; observe social distancing; avoid touching your face; wear a mask. These are just basic, common sense courteous actions. Let’s use this pandemic as a way to change our behavior for the better.
A few weeks ago I shared this with the staff: When you are in times of distress and are troubled by life circumstances, here is a suggestion: Increase. Increase your prayer time spending more time listening to the Father. Increase more time in praise focusing on the size of your God not the size of your problem. Increase in your outreach to help others who are in need getting the focus off of yourself. Keeping the main thing the main thing is a great way to see your life storm calm down. It may not remove your problem. It can help keep your problem in perspective.
See you Sunday, good Lord willing.
Pastor Tom
