Christ welcomes you, no matter who you are or where you come from – and so do we. Please feel welcome to join us for any of our worship services, bible studies or special events. You're always welcome!

March 20, 2020

 

Fellow saints,

 

I pray this letter finds you still healthy through God’s gracious care.  May he continue to guide and bless us, whether sick, lonely, without a job, fewer hours or just a bit scared.  The Psalm for the 4^th Sunday in Lent, Psalm 42 gives us this assurance:  “Why are you so depressed, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I will again praise him for my salvation from the face of my God (Ps 42:11).”  When you get a chance, read the whole psalm!

 

There’s a lot in this letter.  Please read through it carefully!

 

Worship:  You will find videos and worship folders for our services for Sundays and Wednesdays in these locations:

• http://www.christlutheranwestsalem.com
• https://www.facebook.com/pg/CLCWS

 

Bible Classes:  We’ll suspend face to face meetings, at least for the time being as we see how this all plays out.  Look for materials on our website that will allow you to continue studying Romans (men) and Luke (women).  There will be a Family Bible Hour study each week as well that will be designed to help your family study the Sunday School lesson for that week.  There may even be a chance for video gatherings!  Stay tuned!

 

Lord’s Supper:  Our Lord uses the Sacrament of Holy Communion to bind us to him through his body and blood, really present with the bread and wine.  He also uses this Sacrament to bind us together in the joy of a common, shared faith.  Even though we need to stay separated at the moment, God’s people still need (perhaps even more so now!) the assurance of our union with Jesus and with each other.  Here is our plan for Lord’s Supper

• We will still celebrate Lord’s Supper on our normal Communion Sundays.
• The Church will be open from 1-4 pm.
• Pastor will give “private communion” during that time.
  • We’ll limit the number of people at the communion rail to 6 people at a time (three on each side). (Families can be together.)
  • We will not use the common cup.
  • Individual cups will be spaced out so you are able to take a cup without touching another one.
  • I will be using gloves or regularly sanitizing my hands during the distribution.
  • We will work to limit the number of people in the church to 10.

Offerings:  God gives us the chance to give, not so much because he needs the gifts but because we need to give!  Your church is still carrying out our mission of sharing the gospel, and our needs are ongoing, just as yours are.  May our Lord guide and bless our giving plans, even as we enter changing and uncertain times.  Here are ways you can continue to worship God with your gifts to him:

• Give Plus + (Vanco).  Four attachments (2 videos and 2 pdf documents) are included in this email for helping give a step by step guide to enrolling in Vanco to keep offerings to church as convenient as possible at this time and in the future.   Some people have already been asking for this, and now we are working to quickly get caught up with technology! If you have trouble or questions feel free to contact Katie or Ryan Rasmussen at 608-386-7856 or Melissa (Deyo) Dykman at  (608) 790-5430.  We can help if possible, but the steps listed on this PDF are what we would know as well.  If you have a problem please contact Katie and she can reach the company. The main thing now is that you can control your own account info and giving preferences, any time you’d like. Just down load the App on your phone or computer and follow the prompts.  (As noted in the in instructions, the church does pay a percentage fee for this service.  You will have the option to add that percentage to your gift if you wish.)
• Online Giving:  Vanco also offers the ability to give through our website.  We are working to make that possible, so check back often if this option would be useful to you.  Instructions for this option are also included in the attachments.

• Online banking: If you use an online bill pay system, you can use it to mail your offerings to church.  You can set up a recurring system if you wish.  Please include your envelope number on the memo line.  Your bank can help you if you need assistance.

• Mail in your offering envelope.
• Drop off your envelope.  The school office will be open Monday – Thursday from 8am-3pm.  You’ll see an offering basket right inside Mrs. Black’s window.  You can leave your gift there.

Visits:  As long as I’m healthy and the ones who’d like a visit are healthy, I am available.  Do not hesitate to call at any time.  I will do my best to keep serving you and your families.

 

As we move along, there may be more things we will be trying.  Other adjustments will likely take place as we begin implementing these plans. We’re all learning patience and flexibility as things seem to be constantly changing!

 

Much of our contact will need to be via online services.  As always, we will depend on you to reach your friends, family and neighbors who may not have these capabilities, or may need help using them.  THANK YOU for taking the lead in your family worship, and bringing these resources to others.  If you discover someone with an email address who is not receiving these communications, please encourage them to email Katie Rasmussen at christlutheransecretary@gmail.com and we’ll get them added to our mailing list.

 

God the Father created us.  He understands this disease.  God the Son redeemed us. He understands our need for forgiveness.  God the Holy Spirit sanctified us. He understands how much we need Word and Sacrament.   We are in his care.

 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

 

In Christ our Lord,

Pastor Riediger

GivePlus_Mobile_How_it_works

GivePlus Online Hosted – How It Works

3-29-2020