(Below is a reprint of Pastor Tim’s letter to the Congregation March 19, 2020)
“Dear Brothers and Sisters at Christ the King Lutheran Church,
This has been a trying couple of weeks, requiring ingenuity and compassion as we navigate a new way of life. Yet I am so proud of the ways that you all have stepped up to the call of staying connected in spite of physical distancing. I’ve heard from some that this has made them feel more connected to this community than before. Keep up the good work, everyone! Your simple offering of time, words and relationship is the very work of the Body of Christ.
Unfortunately, though, this is going to be the way of life for a while. Orders from the governor’s office and recommendations from the Office of the Bishop have led us to the conclusion that we must extend our suspension of in-person worship services and meetings through May 10, 2020, at which point we will re-evaluate the safety of in-person gatherings. This obviously includes Holy Week and Easter worship services. I am currently offering these important services online in what I hope will be meaningful to you. (*Please refer to the webinar links list below).
Christ the King Lutheran Church continues to need your financial support, especially in this time of need. I will continue to offer online worship and Bible studies. We will be working in the coming days and weeks to organize other online meetings, too, for youth, children, Council and M-Teams, and other groups as needed. Mandy Gardner has been hard at work in curating and creating resources for faith formation at home that you can do yourselves (since you all have lots of time on your hands!). Giving financially to Christ the King Lutheran Church is vital to sustain these ministries that work to sustain and strengthen you and your faith in these trying times. You can give to Christ the King Lutheran Church in many ways. Visit https://www.ctkdurango.org/learn-more/give for more information and links to give online.
During this unprecedented time in our lives, let me encourage you to do whatever you can to promote the public health, especially for those who are most vulnerable. If you are healthy and are able to help with grocery shopping, to run errands, or help in any other way, please let me know by sending me an email to pastortim@ctkdurango.org. I will do my best to connect those who have needs to those who have offered their help.
Finally, take care of yourselves. Go for walks. Laugh and talk with neighbors (from a safe distance). Wash your hands well and often. Enjoy the beauty of creation in which we live. Get off your computer and away from news and just read a book for a while. Play a board game. Take part in fun faith formation resources that we have available to you online. Be patient, kind, and compassionate as always. Remember that this hardship will come to an end. Pray that it comes quickly.”
* Webinar Links
Each Sunday until further notice, at 9:15am please join Pastor Tim for Sunday’s Worship Webinar and Fellowship. You can access Sunday’s worship webinar by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/j/530311237
Fellowship Time after ALL of our worship services (Wednesdays and Sundays) can be accessed by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/j/3445934929. Each Thursday at Noon please join me for our Thursday Bible Study, where we are just finishing up our study on 2 Thessalonians. You can join me for that Bible Study by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/j/698922754.
If you have any trouble accessing these meeting sites, please let me know. You can email me at pastortim@ctkdurango.org, or call at 970-426-9681.
Peace, Pastor Tim
Important April Events:
(Unless otherwise noted, all April worship services, including Holy Week and Easter, will be via webinar — see above “Webinar Links” for more info, or contact Pastor Tim.)
Sunday, April 5th – Palm Sunday at 9:15am
Thursday, April 9th – Maundy Thursday at 6:00pm
Friday, April 10th – Good Friday service at 6:00pm
Sunday, April 12th – Easter Worship at 9:15am
Sunday, April 19th – “Earth Day Sunday” (actual Earth Day date is April 22nd)
Sunday, April 26th –Sunday Service at 9:15am
Plan Ahead
NOTE: Given the current pandemic crisis, the following dates are “tentative” at this time. Please continue to check our CtK Website for updates. Thank you!
Friday/Saturday, May 1st/2nd — Rocky Mtn. Synod Assembly, Albuquerque, NM
Sunday, May 17th — Congregational Semi-annual Meeting & Potluck luncheon; NOTE: ONLY ONE WORSHIP at 9:30am THIS DAY. Worship music will be led by CtK’s Joyful Noise.
Sunday, May 31st — Pentecost Sunday. Remember to wear RED!
Saturday, June 6th thru Sunday, June 14th – Love Out Loud Week–THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE PANDEMIC CRISIS. FOR MORE INFORMATION email BETH STELZ AT churchadmin@ctkdurango.org
Friday, June 26th thru Sunday June 28th – CtK’s Church-wide Campout at Chris Park;
ONE 10:30am Worship at CtK on Sunday, June 28th.
Monday, July 6th thru Friday, July 10th – CtK Day Camp
I don’t know about you, but my emotions have been all over the map recently. It would be easy to give in to the fear of uncertainty and collapse into a puddle, and maybe sleep until all this is over. But around almost every corner of my home, I see some project or area that needs cleaned that I have put off until I have “more time”. Well, now I have been gifted with a LOT of time. So why am I still putting off those projects? For me, it feels sort of meaningless to do any of it. Meaningless and lonely and a boring necessity.
But then I pulled out the book that always helps me when I’m feeling down: “Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West”, translated by Daniel Ladinsky. I open it randomly, and I get this gem from St. Francis of Assisi:
DEAR GOD
Dear God, please reveal to us
your sublime
beauty
that is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere,
so that we will never again
feel frightened.
My divine love, my love,
please let us touch
your face.
And suddenly, I feel connected again. To God, to myself, to the world outside the walls of my house. I have been blessed with the gift of time, and with God’s help, I can make this time meaningful.
We all connect to God in different ways. And there are ways we can connect that we haven’t discovered yet. CtK’s website has a new page that will hopefully help: Faith Formation at Home. There you’ll find ideas for all ages to grow your relationship with God. It’s a work in progress, too, so at the bottom there’s a place to email me your own faith formation suggestions.
There are also two Worship Resource pages: Sunday Service and Wednesday Worship. After each worship service I’ll upload to the appropriate page the recording of the live Zoom service. This way, if you miss one live, you can watch it at your leisure. And you can email your friends and family the urls and get them connected, too.
And for the Three Days – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Eve Vigil – use this page to join the live worship services on April 9th and 10th and an immersive Easter Vigil on April 11.
Now more than ever, it’s important that we “keep the faith”, and grow it, too.
Thanks to all of you who ordered olive oil. We ordered 46 bottles of oil! It has now arrived. God willing, we will be able to distribute it eventually. The good news, there is no shipping or handling since we had such a big order. So the prices will be based solely on the cost per bottle. $11.99 for the small Jenin, $21.99 for the large Jenin, and $24.99 for the bottles of Rumi and Nabali.
Thanks for all your support!
I hope you are all coping with this unexpected isolation.
John Condie
CtK Social Ministry Committee
CtK’s Habitat Update
Right now, CtK’s Habitat build is tentatively scheduled for a May 18th start. Given the current pandemic crisis, it’s possible there will instead be a June start, or later—it all depends. I will keep you posted as information becomes forthcoming.
Status of Habitat Restore
Restore currently closed.
There is concern about receiving “new merchandise” when the store is re-opened. Will it be contaminated? Can items be cleaned; if so, how? Should items just be thrown it out?
Habitat continues to pay staff, both administrative and in-store. The administrative staff is working from home; the in-store staff is just waiting the situation out at home. Given that Habitat closed on one of their resale units last month, they currently have the funds to support this effort.
Current Habitat Families
Habitat is giving their families a 90 day mortgage deferment. This time/payment will be added on to the end of the mortgage.
Faith Relations
Kirk Johnson with Summit Church (formerly First United Methodist Church) is trying to organize a Faith Based Committee for Habitat. He will be contacting me.
The Piecemaker Quilters would like to invite all those interested in quilting (or wanting to learn how to quilt) to join us. You’ll find us a warm and accepting group who makes quilts for baptisms, the sick and elderly, as well as for various mission projects for those in need here at home and abroad. If you would like more information, please give Judy Danielson a call at the Durango Quilt Company: 970-247-2582. The Piecemakers regularly meet on the 4th Wednesday of each month from 9:30 am until 2:00 pm in the CtK Community Hall. We look forward to seeing you! However, due to the covid-19 pandemic, we are suspending our meetings until further notice. So stay tuned for future meeting times or contact Judy, 970-247-2582 for more information. Thank you.
CtK Book Club
The CtK Book Club meets on the second Thursday of each month at 3:00 pm in the CtK Library. However, due to the covid-19 pandemic, we are suspending our meetings until further notice. So stay tuned for future meeting times or contact Stella Welcher at 970-903-9327 for more information. Thank you.