Update for December 2021:
PLAN FOR IN-PERSON WORSHIP-. We will continue the Facebook live and YouTube for those who enjoy watching from home. Masks are strongly encouraged, but not required, for everyone because all counties in Wisconsin are experiencing high community transmission. Everyone should wear a mask when they are in public indoor spaces, even if fully vaccinated. Please see www.dhs.wisconsin.gov for more information. Please practice social distancing with at least 6 feet apart with no physical contact unless it is ok with the other person to do so. Everyone has different comfort levels, so please respect everyone’s choice. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
PLAN FOR IN-PERSON WORSHIP-. We will continue the Facebook live and YouTube for those who enjoy watching from home. Masks are strongly encouraged, but not required, for everyone because all counties in Wisconsin are experiencing high community transmission. Everyone should wear a mask when they are in public indoor spaces, even if fully vaccinated. Please see www.dhs.wisconsin.gov for more information. Please practice social distancing with at least 6 feet apart with no physical contact unless it is ok with the other person to do so. Everyone has different comfort levels, so please respect everyone’s choice. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Update for June 7: The internet was done for our service for today. The power outage on Friday really did a lot more damage than I first realized to our internet. We have it fixed now, so going forward we should have a better experience when it comes to the Facebook live service. I apologize for the poor quality of the service, but that is all we could do in them moment. Going forward there are two things I am going to do differently, (1) I will get to church and hour earlier (7 am) so if we have problems with the internet again, I can address them and hopefully take care of them earlier. (2) I am going to recommend to council that we get a hotspot which will allow us to use a cell signal instead of the internet when there are times like today, when the internet goes down. Our goal is to give everybody a good worship experience and I am hoping these steps will help make our at home worshipers have a better experience. If you have any question please let me know. Thanks! Pastor Paul
Update for June 7: GUIDELINES FOR IN PERSON WORSHIP ON JUNE 7TH -In May, the council thought it would be best to give people another worship option for the summer, which will be in person worship. The Facebook Live and the YouTube Service are not going away and will be available each week as well. For all our brothers and sisters who are in the vulnerable group for the virus (over 60+, chronic health problems or immunosuppressed). I would encourage you to continue to use our online services. Please choose whatever service you feel comfortable and safe doing.
There are several changes and guidelines that we will put in place for in person service to make it as safe as we can. These guidelines and changes come from a bunch of different sources such as the ELCA, Synod and other churches in the community. We are trying to use the ones that best fit our context. (1) If you are feeling sick, we would ask you to not come to in person worship. (2) We will practice social distancing by having people sit in every other pew. Pews are marked off with green painters tape. Two families per pew also marked with green painters tape. (3) We ask people to wear masks if they can, not just for their personal protection but more so for the other people at service. There will be masks available at service for people to use. Please honor people’s personal space during this time as well. (4) To help with cleaning after service, we are going to have the main doors open and will lock the back door (kitchen door). We will also close the door going to the fellowship hall. (5) We will not be passing the offering basket; instead we will have one just at the back of the sanctuary. (6) During the passing of the peace we would encourage no physical passing of the peace but instead ask people to use hand gestures and words of peace. (7) As much as I would love to do communion every Sunday, I think to start off, that we will be having communion once a month. The elements will be available in the pew in prepackaged kits. Also, after service I will have drive up communion for folks who would like to take the elements in their car or at home. (8) After service we will dismiss by rows to help with social distancing as well. (9) No coffee fellowship for the summer. As circumstances dictate we will change and pivot to fit the current situation. The goal in all of this is to do worship as safely as we can.
There are several changes and guidelines that we will put in place for in person service to make it as safe as we can. These guidelines and changes come from a bunch of different sources such as the ELCA, Synod and other churches in the community. We are trying to use the ones that best fit our context. (1) If you are feeling sick, we would ask you to not come to in person worship. (2) We will practice social distancing by having people sit in every other pew. Pews are marked off with green painters tape. Two families per pew also marked with green painters tape. (3) We ask people to wear masks if they can, not just for their personal protection but more so for the other people at service. There will be masks available at service for people to use. Please honor people’s personal space during this time as well. (4) To help with cleaning after service, we are going to have the main doors open and will lock the back door (kitchen door). We will also close the door going to the fellowship hall. (5) We will not be passing the offering basket; instead we will have one just at the back of the sanctuary. (6) During the passing of the peace we would encourage no physical passing of the peace but instead ask people to use hand gestures and words of peace. (7) As much as I would love to do communion every Sunday, I think to start off, that we will be having communion once a month. The elements will be available in the pew in prepackaged kits. Also, after service I will have drive up communion for folks who would like to take the elements in their car or at home. (8) After service we will dismiss by rows to help with social distancing as well. (9) No coffee fellowship for the summer. As circumstances dictate we will change and pivot to fit the current situation. The goal in all of this is to do worship as safely as we can.
March 26, 2020 So with the Governor's shelter in place order, we are going to change our hours a little and work form home a little more until the order is suspended. Pastor is going to still try and take Mondays off and will be working from home on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. He will be in the office on Wednesdays and Sundays. Sarah will be in the office on Wednesdays and Fridays, and will be working from home the remainder of the week. Feel free to call Pastor if you need anything or need to talk.
March 19, 2020. We are working with the Food Shelf for drive up. Their hours are 3-5pm on Wednesdays and 2-5 pm on Sundays. Currently we do not need any volunteers but if that changes I will put the word out. One of the big things we are encouraging right now is to write cards and letters to our shut ins and people in the care center. If you would like some names of people to write too, please email the church and we will get you some names. Currently the building is locked to help us comply with the national and state mandates of having just ten people in the building at one time. If you stop by simply call us and we will let you in. Locking the building has also helped us to manage the extra demand we have had for food and gas. This way we can work with each person individually. We have been fulfilling all the requests. For Sunday, we are hoping to use Facebook live, as well as taping the service as we have been in the past. We again will send out a bulletin on Friday so that we can all participate with the service. If you need food, we have food so please let me know, and yes we even have toilet paper. There is still more stuff coming down the pipe and we will do our best to keep you informed. Thank you for your patience. If you have any specific questions please feel free to email the church or Pastor Paul. Thank you and God Bless!
March 18 update: I will have a longer update out tomorrow. Things have been happening a little too rapidly for me to get out an update today. I will have one up tomorrow. God Bless!
March 17 Update part 1: There will be no in person Lenten services or Bible study for right now. I will record the worship service for tomorrow and put it on Youtube and Facebook. I have also put the latest video on thre front page as well. We are having a council meeting tonight where we should have a little more clarity about the days to come.
March 15 Update: The Synod has asked us to suspend fellowship for the rest of Lent. After a worship meeting today, we decided we are also not going to be having a noon time service and meal. There will be an evening service this Wednesday at 6:30 pm but no meal prior. I have added an Update Menu item, so that you can look at all the updates since March 13, 2020.
March 14 Update: Sunday School and Confirmation is canceled due to the Wisconsin schools being closed. We will announce when we will have them reopen. Thank you.
March 13, 2020
Covid-19 has made a big impact on our lives over the last couple of days. There is a lot of unknowns that we don’t know about the virus and just about how things will look in the days ahead. I talked to the executive committee last night about how to proceed going forward. The first thing to note is that this information and decisions can be very fluid as we are learning more and more by the hour. Currently, we are going to have Sunday service; however, we will continue to monitor and follow any guidelines set forth by the Synod, State of Wisconsin and/or the Wisconsin Department of Health. I would highly encourage you to stay home if you are sick or not feeling well; have been immune-compromised; have respiratory problems and or over the age of sixty. You need to make this decision as to what will keep you safe. There is no shame or blame for not coming to church, we here at Gethsemane want you to be safe. So, the obvious question is why even have church in the first place. I have noticed over the last couple of days, the feeling of hopelessness and powerlessness people have been having. We have seen stores emptied of toilet paper and other supplies not because people may need them but it is one of the ways for people to cope with feeling powerlessness. We are keeping the church open so that people know that there is a place they can call or come to when they are feeling powerless and hopeless. We want you to see that you are not alone in this challenging time and that we go through this time together as a community as Jesus has taught us. This is why we will keep having service and why I will be at church during my normal hours.
Some of the things that we are doing to help make service more virus-free is that we will not be using a hymnal (everything will be in the bulletin); we will not be practicing intinction for the foreseeable future; all communion servers will wash and then sanitize their hands prior to giving out communion; the offering plate will be not be passed but will be on a table so you can simply place your offering going into or out of service; we will not be shaking hands or even fist-bumping for the sharing of the piece (we are working on either a wave or a sign language alternative), and for coffee fellowship, you can simply take a to-go cup and doughnut so you don’t have to stay.
In regards to my time, as you may or may not know a lot of my time is spent on visiting members of the congregation. Due to the current state of things, I will not be going out on regular visits. I will be doing more phone call visits in the meantime. If you need to talk at any time please feel free to give me a call 952-905-0601. I am also hoping to be doing more Facebook and media content as well. If there is something you would like to see, let me know. I would be happy to start posting Bible study as well online. I am also available if you need groceries or other things picked up and dropped off at your home. We also have food available at church such as rice; canned vegetables; canned meats and canned fruits. There is also a small amount of frozen food we do have.
The biggest question I have for you is what can we as a church do to help you through these uncertain times, please email or call the church and or me and let us know. If you are wondering what you can do to help, here are a few things you can do. Give your neighbor a call and see how they are doing. Pray for those folks in your life that you are worried about. Pray for the doctors, nurses, and all health care providers as they help diagnose, treat, and care for people. Talk to somebody about how you are feeling and what is making you nervous or scared. As Christians, we come together in times like these to walk with each other and our neighbors and show them what the love of Jesus looks like.
Any changes to our Sunday worship schedule, confirmation, and other programs will be communicated to the congregation via our web page, e-mail, and Facebook.
May God Bless Us all!
Pastor Paul
Covid-19 has made a big impact on our lives over the last couple of days. There is a lot of unknowns that we don’t know about the virus and just about how things will look in the days ahead. I talked to the executive committee last night about how to proceed going forward. The first thing to note is that this information and decisions can be very fluid as we are learning more and more by the hour. Currently, we are going to have Sunday service; however, we will continue to monitor and follow any guidelines set forth by the Synod, State of Wisconsin and/or the Wisconsin Department of Health. I would highly encourage you to stay home if you are sick or not feeling well; have been immune-compromised; have respiratory problems and or over the age of sixty. You need to make this decision as to what will keep you safe. There is no shame or blame for not coming to church, we here at Gethsemane want you to be safe. So, the obvious question is why even have church in the first place. I have noticed over the last couple of days, the feeling of hopelessness and powerlessness people have been having. We have seen stores emptied of toilet paper and other supplies not because people may need them but it is one of the ways for people to cope with feeling powerlessness. We are keeping the church open so that people know that there is a place they can call or come to when they are feeling powerless and hopeless. We want you to see that you are not alone in this challenging time and that we go through this time together as a community as Jesus has taught us. This is why we will keep having service and why I will be at church during my normal hours.
Some of the things that we are doing to help make service more virus-free is that we will not be using a hymnal (everything will be in the bulletin); we will not be practicing intinction for the foreseeable future; all communion servers will wash and then sanitize their hands prior to giving out communion; the offering plate will be not be passed but will be on a table so you can simply place your offering going into or out of service; we will not be shaking hands or even fist-bumping for the sharing of the piece (we are working on either a wave or a sign language alternative), and for coffee fellowship, you can simply take a to-go cup and doughnut so you don’t have to stay.
In regards to my time, as you may or may not know a lot of my time is spent on visiting members of the congregation. Due to the current state of things, I will not be going out on regular visits. I will be doing more phone call visits in the meantime. If you need to talk at any time please feel free to give me a call 952-905-0601. I am also hoping to be doing more Facebook and media content as well. If there is something you would like to see, let me know. I would be happy to start posting Bible study as well online. I am also available if you need groceries or other things picked up and dropped off at your home. We also have food available at church such as rice; canned vegetables; canned meats and canned fruits. There is also a small amount of frozen food we do have.
The biggest question I have for you is what can we as a church do to help you through these uncertain times, please email or call the church and or me and let us know. If you are wondering what you can do to help, here are a few things you can do. Give your neighbor a call and see how they are doing. Pray for those folks in your life that you are worried about. Pray for the doctors, nurses, and all health care providers as they help diagnose, treat, and care for people. Talk to somebody about how you are feeling and what is making you nervous or scared. As Christians, we come together in times like these to walk with each other and our neighbors and show them what the love of Jesus looks like.
Any changes to our Sunday worship schedule, confirmation, and other programs will be communicated to the congregation via our web page, e-mail, and Facebook.
May God Bless Us all!
Pastor Paul
