June 26, 2020
Dear Prairie Avenue Family,
We begin to be present with each in-person this Sunday at 9 am. It will be in Fellowship Hall. Why Fellowship hall? First, the forecast of sub-tropical humidity this weekend (dewpoint around 70, muggy indeed!). Second, as precautions for church gatherings include outdoor services or indoor spaces with available open windows, the fellowship hall is the only large space with air conditioning and operable windows. Seating is set at 6 ft apart from each row, and you are encouraged to only sit with those of your household. While we have placed 4 chairs at each row, you may add more seating for your household to sit together.
The order of service will be different. There will be no meet and greet. Masks are recommended. Offering will be collected at the door, and individually wrapped communion elements will be picked up at the entrance before worship begins. While there will be songs playing, you are encouraged not to sing, but read the words as they appear on the television that will be providing our order of service. There will be no bulletins or Bibles. There will be no coffee fellowship, since gathering in groups is still risky, and there is nothing like a snack and a beverage to encourage gatherings.
Sunday School classes will not be held for at least another four weeks. The youth group will be gathering on Sunday evenings, since the youth room is too small for their activities on Wednesdays, and the fellowship hall is being used by Zumba at the same time. Administrative, pastoral support, and church board meetings will be held in July.
We will continue to have a Saturday evening service at 5 pm at our website:
prairieavenuechristianchurch.org/w
orship-
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While we will discontinue the Facebook Live at 9 am Sunday morning, we will post a Facebook Watch Party at 9 am using the Saturday evening service recording.
It is likely that we will continue to meet in the Fellowship Hall for at least four weeks to keep our COVID-19 risks minimal. If there are no COVID-19 cases within the congregation over the next four weeks, and the State of Illinois region keeps in Phase 4, we will resume our worship service being in the sanctuary on Sunday, July 26.
The only entrance that will be unlocked and open will be the garage to reduce the weekly deep cleaning necessary for COVID-19 risk mitigation.
Worship This Weekend
We continue our summer series
Family Reunion: Lessons from Genesis.
This Saturday at 5 pm worship-online, or Sunday at 9 am we will examine the story of Abraham and the near slaughter/sacrifice of Isaac. We are told something at the beginning that Abraham is not: it is only a test. This God does not demand child sacrifices. Other gods may, and sadly, too often we provide the burnt offering in our fear and insecurity. Will our faith be for the sake of love, or will it be for the sake of gain? Sacrifices always include an act of obedience and faith. Abraham is far from a role model in the fidelity department, as we will discover. The greater gasp in the story is not God's test, but Abraham's mindless actions to see nothing wrong in this request. And his willingness to see it through.
This God does indeed provide: a sacrifice and an offering. And God never speaks to Abraham again.
See you in worship (online!) this weekend!
