April 16, 2020
Greetings to the Members of Hillcrest Church,
We wanted to update you on a few things and give you a picture of some ways you can help us minister to the rest of our congregation and our city.
First, we wanted to praise the Lord for his favor and protection on our city and among our congregation. At the same time, we know that we are all experiencing quite a bit of disorientation from the threat of the virus and from the impact of the lock down. Check out Pastor Steve’s recent congregational letter on how the Psalms show us how to navigate disorientation.
We are encouraged by the level of support we are seeing and by the number of people who are joining us on Sundays for the webcasts. Now that we have figured out the various platforms we’ve settled into a use pattern.
Facebook is helpful because it is easy to invite your other Facebook friends. If you use the FB site, our online pastors can see that you have joined and will usually greet you. You can also greet other members who have joined in. The sound and video quality will vary depending on the usage.
The Church Online website is helpful for those who want a little more anonymity, our pastors won’t know you are there until you have made comments. You can also ask for prayer and one of our online pastors will join you in a private chat session. The first couple of services, Church Online was a little less stable, but now it provides pretty decent sound and video.
You can also go to Youtube to watch the webcasts. One of the big advantages for some people is that it is easier to watch Youtube on a smart TV. However there’s no chat on Youtube, which some of the “introverts” might appreciate.
The last letter I sent out included an exploration of the possibility of doing a Let’s Talk using something like Zoom. In the weeks since, we’ve continued to experiment with the different kinds of software available and we have not yet been able to set a date for an online Let’s Talk. I’ll keep trying and keep y’all updated.
The pastors and other leaders in the Church are trying to reach out and contact as many people in our congregation as we can. If you would like to help with that and haven’t been asked, email Pastor Jamie to let him know you can help.
We’re also wondering if there’s people out there who you might know who would benefit from a pastoral call. This is a very lonely time for many and the social isolation presents a different kind of danger mentally and spiritually. If there is anyone in your sphere that would benefit by more contact, please let us know by filling out this call form.
I’ve put this letter on a special page on the website and the only way you get to it is by using the URL provided in the Realm notice. I’m planning for the next while to use this as a member’s blog and send out at least a short update every couple of weeks. One of the areas that we could use some time is with our history section. If you want to help with filling out some details with our online history site, please fill out this history form.
To give a level of privacy to bereaved members we’re not posting the “Our Church Family” prayer section online. If you want to see those, please stop by the church to pick up a print bulletin or contact Christy so she can send you a PDF with all the details.
One last little preview I wanted to give y’all is that we’re starting to make the church library accessible to our congregants. Christy will be overseeing that, but if you want to access our library give her a call. One of the things we’re doing is asking people to wear masks when they come to the library. We have a number of disposable masks on hand, but if you have been making re-usable masks, we could use some here at the library. Call or email Christy if you can help.
Thanks so much for your ongoing support and prayers. Check out our website for opportunities to be more involved in prayer.
May the Lord find us faithful in the good work that He has given us to do in this season.
In His service,
Pastor Glenn
Watch live-stream on Hillcrest Website https://www.hillcrestchurch.net/live-stream
Realm signup https://onrealm.org/HillcrestChurch/Register
Need an invitation to RightNow Media? Contact: info@hillcrestchurch.net
Send invite youth to join Tuesday night online, youth@hillcrestchurch.net; Subject: Tuesday Night Online Invite
Note: we reserve the right to limit invites to or from people already registered with REALM
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