Greetings,
St. Matthew is moving into the era of Zoom, and other virtual meeting tools. Easter worship service was streamed live, thanks to Cantor Dave, Pastor Peggy, Deacon Bill and soloist, Kristin Harp, along with Tom & Chris Cassel—our tech crew. While there were fewer than 10 souls in the sanctuary, 80 families connected with us for worship. When the service was open, and the participants unmuted, there was a delightful buzz of greetings and best wishes.
So, Council met by Zoom on Monday for business (SMLC now has its own account). We voted to not have an Annual Meeting in June, but rather postpone business to a Special Meeting in September, when we can meet again in person, Lord willing. We spent time on three challenges Council sees:
- Maintaining the sense of St Matthew as one body in Christ, keeping the richness of our personal and divine relationships as a Congregation alive and thriving despite Covid challenges. We will hold Ministry Night, May 4th using Zoom. We plan to start a regular Zoom Coffee Hour on Sunday morning. The Monday Morning Bible Study is meeting through Zoom and all are welcome, along with some Sunday school groups are meeting virtually. Pastor Peggy has reached out by mail, email and phone to virtually the entire congregation. If you have ideas for other large or small groups to gather, we have the technology and people willing to help you get started. Send me an email or let Kim know.
- Sunday School needs 5 teachers for this coming fall. There is no age or experience barrier to you being a joy to our children and helping their spiritual growth keep up with their physical growth. We’d like 2 teachers for each class, so that there is coverage when one teacher travels or attends worship.
- Finances are near budget, but we will be losing the income from groups who are not currently meeting in our building. Many thanks to all who are mailing in their estimates of giving and dropping by food donations for the food pantry.
Please watch your real and virtual inboxes for updates. We are in a rapidly changing time and will work to keep everyone up to date on changes, and on opportunities.
Finally, a public service announcement — the Red Cross is hold-ing a blood drive at Moorestown High School in a couple of weeks. Jack Horton reported that they have developed procedures to safeguard the donors. Most blood collections were cancelled in March, so the need is acute. Specific information will be coming in our weekly eblasts.
Stay safe, stay healthy, praise the Lord for the blessings we do have. —John O’Meara