This newsletter includes:

1. Devotional Thought
2. Worship Preview for Sunday
3. Bible Study

Worship Notes

-In person worship: Sunday at 8am & 9:45am; Monday at 6:30pm

(Sunday's attendance was around 80 in each service, and everyone was spaced out well. Last week's attendance at Monday night: 31. Everyone did a great job spacing out. This service is a great option for those at higher risk. Our church capacity is around 600, so we were under 20% capacity for each service.)

-For those at home this week: Livestreamed 8am service, with the service available on Youtube directly afterwords (it worked! Send your special thanks to Paul and Tom Spaude, Shelby Pitt, and Gary Johnson for their hard work and continued hard work to serve those at home!)

-DVDs and sermon copies are available by contacting the church office, between 9am-12pm on weekdays.

-Pastors available anytime to visit and share a devotion and/or communion (Church Office: 989-799-3271; PB: 989-412-0458; PN: 989-412-0232)

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ONLINE BIBLE STUDY THURSDAY MORNING at 10am

Anybody is free to join. Click this link or enter the information below in the program/app Zoom. Meeting ID: 813 9931 8006 Password: 011081

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This newsletter includes (it's filled with stuff, so maybe take it in a couple sittings!):

1. COVID 19 Worship Updates and Communion Notes
2. Devotional Thought
3. Worship Preview for Sunday
4. Bible Study

1. COVID 19 Worship Updates

-In person worship: Sunday at 8am & 9:45am; Monday at 6:30pm

-Hopefully for those at home this week: Livestreamed 8am service, with the service available on Youtube directly afterwords

-DVDs and sermon copies are available by contacting the church office, between 9am-12pm on weekdays.

-Pastors available anytime to visit and share a devotion and/or communion

Please note and be encouraged:

1) We have a big sanctuary, so please spread out! We'll put up some signs to remind us to social distance. Sometimes that means having a pew between, other times that means sitting in the center if someone in the pew in front of you is sitting near the aisle. We know it's easy to forget, so we'll have ushers ready to help out--please be kind to them if they ask you to scooch a little further down a pew.

2) Wearing masks is optional, and so far we have many who decide not to wear them, but if you would like to wear one please don't feel hesitant or judged in any way! You are free not to wear one, but you are also free to wear one. Whatever your decision, as always, Christians live not based on what they want, but out of their convictions from God's Word and out of love for others.

3) Remember to follow common sense/CDC guidelines, including self-checking your symptoms before coming, washing hands, sanitize on the way in to the sanctuary and washing hands again at home.

4) Monday night attendance was around 30 last week in a sanctuary with a capacity of 600, so if you are higher risk but would like to attend in person, know that you would be able to sit 30 feet from anyone else, and yet still be encouraged and encourage others "by speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (singing and making music with your hearts to the Lord)." (Ephesians 5:19)

5) A note on communion: The pastors are always available for private communion, and will take whatever precautions you would like. Also, if you are attending a communion service and are nervous about coming forward to the altar, let us know and we will be happy to commune you afterwards wearing gloves and a mask. We wash our hands immediately before communion, as always.

6) Some food for thought about communion from a Faculty Opinion paper, published by a Missouri Synod Seminary faculty (without necessarily agreeing with everything in the paper, bolding is mine):

"The first century, in which Jesus took bread and wine and instituted their common eating in the Sacrament, was also a time of widespread disease. And yet our Lord did what He did... Jesus knew how disease was spread; He foresaw every crisis in human history. And yet He instituted for His Church a common meal with a common cup. To this common meal Christ attached great promises of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Life, not death!...

"When we receive the Lord's Body into our mouths from the pastor's hand, when we drink from the common chalice, we have nothing to fear. The life offered in the Sacrament of the Altar is, of course, a heavenly and hidden sort of life. There is no clear Word of Scripture to support the notion that no illness could ever be contracted during the reception of the Sacrament. While the Sacrament itself will not harm those who commune worthily, we may possibly be infected by those with whom we commune. Christians suffer even while doing good (1 Peter 2:20). God's purpose in allowing suffering is not always clear (e.g. Job!). Yet faith accepts that it is better to be faithful to God and receive His gifts as he wishes to give them..."

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ONLINE BIBLE STUDY THURSDAY MORNING at 10am

Anybody is free to join. Click this link or enter the information below in the program/app Zoom. Meeting ID: 813 9931 8006 Password: 011081

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[Picture above: Stained glass at St. John's the Baptist's Anglican Church, Ashfield, New South Wales, by Alfred Handel, d. 1946, photo: Toby Hudson. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.]

This newsletter includes:

1. Devotional Thought
2. Worship Preview for Sunday
3. Bible Study

Worship Times

Sunday at 8am & 9:45am; Monday at 6:30pm

So far we have kept our sanctuary at around or under 20% capacity. Monday night is a great service for those with higher risk, since it will have a lighter attendance and we will be able to spread out very far in the sanctuary. After the Sunday services, worshipers will place their hymnals on their seat so that no one will sit in the same spot on a weekend, and so that we can disinfect those areas between services.

For worship at home, the service will be posted by Sunday afternoon on Youtube and Facebook. The words will not be on the screen, so we encourage you to download the bulletin and have a hymnal handy. Contact us if you do not have a Red/Blue hymnal and we will get one to you!

The HD camera was used this past weekend; you may notice a difference in the Youtube video! Thanks for everyone who supported this project--we have enough funds to cover everything and then some. Livestream should be ready soon.

DVDs and sermon copies are available by contacting the church office, between 9am-12pm on weekdays.

ONLINE BIBLE STUDY THURSDAY MORNING at 10am

Anybody is free to join. Click this link or enter the information below in the program/app Zoom. Meeting ID: 813 9931 8006 Password: 011081

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This newsletter includes:

1. Devotional Thought
2. Worship Preview for Sunday
3. Bible Study

COVID-19 Worship Times

Sunday at 8am & 9:45am; Monday at 6:30pm

Our return to normal summer times will help keep our sanctuary at 20% capacity. Monday night is a great service for those with higher risk, since it will have a lighter attendance and we will be able to spread out very far in the sanctuary. After the Sunday services, worshipers will place their hymnals on their seat so that no one will sit in the same spot on a weekend, and so that we can disinfect those areas between services.

For worship at home, the service will be posted by Sunday afternoon on Youtube and Facebook. The words will not be on the screen, so we encourage you to download the bulletin and have a hymnal handy. Contact us if you do not have a Red/Blue hymnal and we will get one to you!

We're hoping that we will have Livestream capabilities soon--the power outage set things back a little bit.

DVDs and sermon copies are available by contacting the church office, between 9am-12pm on weekdays.

ONLINE BIBLE STUDY THURSDAY MORNING at 10am

Anybody is free to join. Click this link or enter the information below in the program/app Zoom. Meeting ID: 813 9931 8006 Password: 011081

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This newsletter includes:

1. Devotional Thought
2. Worship Preview for Sunday
3. Bible Study

COVID-19 Worship Times

Sunday at 8am & 9:45am; Monday at 6:30pm

(Sunday at 11am--private confirmation ceremony for confirmands and their families, full confirmation ceremony with gowns and pictures to take place on September 13th)

Our return to normal summer times will help keep our sanctuary at 20% capacity. Monday night is a great service for those with higher risk, since it will have a lighter attendance and we will be able to spread out very far in the sanctuary. After the Sunday services, worshipers will place their hymnals on their seat so that no one will sit in the same spot on a weekend, and so that we can disinfect those areas between services.

For worship at home, the service will be posted by Sunday afternoon on Youtube and Facebook. The words will not be on the screen, so we encourage you to download the bulletin and have a hymnal handy. Contact us if you do not have a Red/Blue hymnal and we will get one to you!

We're hoping that we will have Livestream capabilities soon. Thanks to everyone who supported this project--we reached our goal of $3,000! Any extra will be spent on livestreaming copyright license subscriptions.

DVDs and sermon copies are available by contacting the church office, between 9am-12pm on weekdays.

ONLINE BIBLE STUDY THURSDAY MORNING at 10am

Anybody is free to join. Click this link or enter the information below in the program/app Zoom. Meeting ID: 813 9931 8006 Password: 011081

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This newsletter includes:

-Covid-19 Updates

1. Devotional Thought
2. Worship Preview for Sunday
3. Bible Study

COVID-19 UPDATE--NEW WORSHIP TIMES!

Saturday at 10am (Last week of the Saturday service)

Sunday at 8am & 9:45am

Monday at 6:30pm

Our return to normal summer times will help keep our sanctuary at 20% capacity. Monday night is a great service for those with higher risk, since it will have a lighter attendance and we will be able to spread out very far in the sanctuary. After the Sunday services, worshipers will place their hymnals on their seat so that no one will sit in the same spot on a weekend, and so that we can disinfect those areas between services.

For worship at home, the service will be posted by 8am Sunday morning on Youtube and Facebook this week. The words will no longer be on the screen because of the work involved, so we encourage you to download the bulletin and have a hymnal handy. Contact us if you do not have a Red/Blue hymnal and we will get one to you!

We're hoping that we will have Livestream capabilities soon, as internet is going in this week and the new camera is ordered. Thanks to everyone who supported this project!

DVDs and sermon copies are available by contacting the church office, between 9am-12pm on weekdays.

ONLINE BIBLE STUDY RESUMES THURSDAY MORNING at 10am

Click this link or enter the information below in the program/app Zoom. Meeting ID: 813 9931 8006 Password: 011081

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This newsletter includes:

1. Devotional Thought
2. Worship Preview for Sunday
3. Bible Study Survey

COVID 19 Worship Status:

Worship in the sanctuary is Saturday at 10am and Sunday at 10am. For worship at home, the service will be posted by 8am Sunday morning on Youtube and Facebook. DVDs and sermon copies are available by contacting the church office, between 9am-12pm on weekdays.

If you decide to worship at home at this time, God bless you in your decision. If you decide to attend worship in the sanctuary at this time, God bless you in your decision. (Romans 14:22-23)

REQUEST FOR GRADUATE NAMES

Parents of our 2020 graduates, we would like to recognize the graduates in a bulletin insert next week.

So that we can have a complete listing, would you please email your student's name and school to stpls@stpls.org by Thursday, May 28? Thank you!

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This newsletter includes:

1. Devotional Thought
2. Some thoughts on worship decisions
3. Worship Preview for Sunday
4. Announcements & New Camera Offerings
5. Bible Study (Personal or Online--Zoom Meeting Info Below)

COVID 19 Worship Status:

Worship in the sanctuary is Saturday at 10am and Sunday at 10am. For worship at home, the service will be posted by 8am Sunday morning on Youtube and Facebook. DVDs and sermon copies are available by contacting the church office, between 9am-12pm on weekdays.

If you decide to worship at home at this time, God bless you in your decision. If you decide to attend worship in the sanctuary at this time, God bless you in your decision. (Romans 14:22-23)

This newsletter includes:

1. Devotional Thought
2. Some thoughts on worship decisions
3. Worship Preview for Sunday
4. Announcements & New Camera Offerings
5. Bible Study (Personal or Online--Zoom Meeting Info Below)

COVID 19 Worship Status:

Worship in the sanctuary is Saturday at 10am and Sunday at 10am. For worship at home, the service will be posted by 8am Sunday morning on Youtube and Facebook. DVDs and sermon copies are available by contacting the church office, between 9am-12pm on weekdays.

If you decide to worship at home at this time, God bless you in your decision. If you decide to attend worship in the sanctuary at this time, God bless you in your decision. (Romans 14:22-23)

This newsletter includes:

1. Devotional Thought
2. Worship Preview for Sunday
3. Bible Study (Personal or Online--Zoom Meeting Info Below)

COVID 19 Worship Status:

In-person Worship this weekend will once again be Saturday at 10am and Sunday at 10am. For previous communications and devotions about this plan, see the previous email or the website.

Communion Update:

As usual, the pastors are available by request to come visit you and bring communion. We will also resume celebrating communion in the services this weekend with these changes:

• We will space out communicants at the altar (2-3 individuals per side or one family group)
• No kneeling
• Only individual cup, with cups spaced out on the tray
• Only the two pastors will distribute
• Rails up the stairs will be sanitized after every use

A pastor will be available for the hour after church on Sunday for private communion in the sanctuary if you would like to come commune after viewing the service at home. Sign up by calling the office on weekdays between 9 and 12 or clicking here.

If you decide to worship at home at this time, God bless you in your decision. If you decide to attend worship in person at this time, God bless you in your decision. (Romans 14:22-23)