January 10th Omicron Update

As you've likely seen, the county signed a public health order requiring respirators (or well-fitting face covering) beginning today. We've consistently tried to follow local guidelines, so we encourage everyone to do so during worship while this order is in effect. We'll provide more details in the coming days for how the order affects other church activities.

We know there are differing views on the response to COVID within our congregation. Some think we should have done this sooner; others wish we would not follow the order. Throughout this pandemic, we've worked hard to keep our differences on this matter from dividing us. In a nation that is quickly doing just that, we believe it's important for us to show that Christ is greater than our views on these things.

We're praying for you; please pray for us as we seek to shepherd this congregation.

Want to worship in person?

Things will be a bit different, but we’re excited to see you!

Updated Jan 9th, 2021

As you've likely seen, the county signed a public health order requiring respirators (or well-fitting face covering) beginning today. We've consistently tried to follow local guidelines, so we encourage everyone to do so during worship while this order is in effect. We'll provide more details in the coming days for how the order affects other church activities.

We know there are differing views on the response to COVID within our congregation. Some think we should have done this sooner; others wish we would not follow the order. Throughout this pandemic, we've worked hard to keep our differences on this matter from dividing us. In a nation that is quickly doing just that, we believe it's important for us to show that Christ is greater than our views on these things.

We're praying for you; please pray for us as we seek to shepherd this congregation.

Additional Information

• Please remember that COVID has affected people in our congregation in various ways; please show grace and patience to those who choose to adjust back to normal life in ways that are different from your own.

• We will continue to take many of the precautionary measures we’ve been taking like opening the windows, sanitizing between services, etc.

• Please stay home if you feel sick or think you may have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19. 

• If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to any of our elders/pastors.

• We will continue to livestream the 9:15am service.

• We have resumed both Stepping Stones (ages 4-7) and nursery (ages 0-3) for both services.

• Our hired child care workers have been instructed on the CDC guidelines for child-care facilities, and we are doing our best to follow them.

May COVID-19 Update

COVID-19: In light of the government's change from red to orange, we are making the following adjustments: - We are encouraging smaller groups to gather toge...

While we are thankful for how technology has allowed us to stay connected, I’m now itching for some face-to-face interaction. We’ve been talking here about how to transition back to gathered worship as our state government reduces the risk level. 

As the elders has discussed our options for gathering, we’ve felt pulled in many directions: caring for those who are isolated; showing compassion for those in our congregation who are high risk; encouraging those in our church who are suffering from the effects of all the closures; recognizing the yearning for many in our congregation see each other; welcoming the new believers in our congregation who want to get baptized and take communion; honoring our civil authorities who have a God-given authority to protect and preserve life; and, most importantly, honoring God and his command to “not neglect” gathering together for worship. Please continue to pray for us as we wrestle with how best to care for our church. 

At this point we’ve made the following decisions: 

• We are encouraging smaller groups to gather together in homes to worship and watch the service at 9:15 or 11. If you’re willing to host a couple of people but don’t know whom to invite, please contact the church as soon as possible.

• For those who have been joining us in person or are unable to go to another person’s home, you are welcome to come to the church to worship at 9:15.

• Groups of fewer than twenty people may resume meeting in person at the group leader’s discretion.

• In all of these, please follow the latest social distancing guidelines from the state.

We are also looking at how many we can safely seat in our church building and have come up with several ways to divide the congregation into smaller groups and rotate in for worship at the building. Thankfully, we can easily start up our second service again, which gives us more options for inviting people into the building. We will communicate with you as we develop these plans. And as always, everything is subject to change depending on the situation.

We miss you and look forward to when we can all gather again for worship.

In Christ,

Pastor Jon

Worship During COVID-19

SUNDAY WORSHIP

• For the time being, our worship service will primarily be online. Access the links on our streaming page.

• For those who don’t have internet access or are were already isolated and Sunday worship was one of your primary places of fellowship, we invite you to worship with as the the church at 9:15. Please follow the latest government guidance for ensuring the safety of everyone.

COMMUNITY & FELLOWSHIP

• If you have any needs, or know someone who does, our deacons have set up a form where you can let us know; we’ll do our best to help.

• We host a number of small groups that are meeting online. Please contact the church if you would like the link to join a group.

• Is there a way we can pray for you? Please let us know here: https://jvc.churchcenter.com/people/forms/120882

COVID Update

Dear Church Family,

This Sunday we are going to be looking at Psalm 46. It’s a Psalm I’ve been returning to a lot this week. Even amid the chaos, God calls us to be still and know that he is God. I’ve needed to remember this as I’ve seen many of my plans change. Instead of getting frustrated, I’m trying to find stillness in the God who is in control. I’d encourage you to read this Psalm before Sunday. 

A number of things will be different over the next several weeks (or perhaps months) at JVC, and I wanted to update you on some of them:
 

Sunday Worship

• For the next couple weeks, our church services will primarily be online. We are working to improve the quality of the streaming as well as providing it on YouTube in addition to Facebook. For the latest updates visit our streaming page.

• Some people in our church don’t have internet access or are already isolated and look forward to Sunday because it provides much-needed fellowship. If you fall into one of those categories, the church will still be open Sunday morning, and we invite you to worship at 9:15 with us.

• Each Saturday we will email you a copy of the bulletin, a kids’ worship guide, and a weekly devotional based on the sermon that you can do individually or with your family. 

Community & Fellowship

• If you have any needs, or know someone who does, our deacons have set up a form where you can let us know; we’ll do our best to help.

• Our elders are meeting this week to find ways for us to stay connected and care for each other during this time. Stay tuned for more details. 

• The church building remains open, and we’ve asked other groups using it to stop for now to minimize the spread of germs. If you need a place to talk with someone, the church building is available. Just contact one of us pastors first to ensure someone will be there.

Opportunity

• Many people are anxious right now; an online service allows people to join us who might not travel to our building on a Sunday morning. Please pray that God would use our church and this unique situation to help more people discover his peace. Also, consider inviting someone to watch the service with you.

• Easter is coming up, and we are asking you to write down the names of five people you can pray for and invite. I’ve put my list in my Bible to remind me to pray for them daily. Even if we end up having our Easter service online, you can still invite these people to join us virtually. 

I’m praying for and with you all. Let’s give ourselves to the Lord, not to fear, and let’s see how he’s calling us to love him and our neighbors more. 

In Christ,

Pastor Jon

Helping Those In Need

Dear JVC Community,

With the impact of the recent coronavirus outbreak extending into many parts of our daily lives, we want to make sure that the spiritual and physical needs of the community are being met. If you weren't already aware, JVC has a benevolence ministry whose mission is to help meet these needs. 

If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, we encourage you to use one of the options below to contact our benevolence team so that we can help.

• Fill out this online form to let us know what you need and provide your contact information. The deacons will be notified.

• Hard copies of the form will also be printed next to the bulletins at church, and you may give them directly to a deacon or place them in one of the offering boxes.

• Reach out to one of our deacons directly for assistance.

If you are interested in helping our deacons serve our community and congregation, please reply to this email or contact one of us directly (see below).

In Christ,

The JVC Deacons
David Sunwall, Jake Hehr, Robert Blair

March 15th Worship Service

If you want to join us online

At 9:15 you can join us online on Facebook. Go to the JVC Facebook page to see the live stream. The video will be saved for later viewing as well.

Follow along with our worship bulletin here.

If you want to join us in person

• Our worship services will be at the normal times. We’ve added seats to the sanctuary to allow people to spread apart. 

• We’ve suspended all non-essential volunteer positions. This includes making coffee, so make sure to bring your own! 

• We will not have a nursery or Stepping Stones. We will all worship together!

• We will not reuse bulletins, so please dispose of them after the service.

• We will not reuse kids packs, but will have coloring packs kids can take home. 

• We will sanitize key areas, before and after each service. 

• Please take responsibility to ensure your washing your hands and following other preventative measures given by the CDC. 

• If you are in an at-risk group or feel any symptoms of the disease please join us online. 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update – March 12th, 2020

Over the past 24 hours I’ve watched in amazement as Coronavirus/COVID-19 went from just a story on the news to something that’s shutting down much of our state. Whatever happens next, this isn’t the first time Christians have faced epidemics. Often, uncertain times have given Christians, as people who believe in resurrection, opportunities to comfort others. With all the information and disinformation swirling around, I want us followers of Christ to think Christianly about Coronavirus. Particularly, I think there are two areas where Scripture speaks to how we should respond: (1) We should seek to protect and preserve life (2) We should share the peace of Christ through word and deed. Before going into more details I want to outline the decisions our elders have made:

1. We will offer live-streaming of our 9:15 worship service. This will be provided on our Facebook page and saved for later viewing. We will email out a PDF version of our bulletin to help you worship with us from home. 

2. We will continue to have our 9:15 and 11:00 services. These services will be under the 100 person threshold outlined by our governor and give people enough room to spread out. We recognize that in anxious times, gathering together for worship has been one of the ways God’s people have found hope. Our doors will be open for all seeking peace during anxious times. 

3. We will stop our nursery & Stepping Stones programs during the service. While it appears children are less susceptible to this virus, they are excellent at spreading germs. We want to minimize that. As always, children are welcome in our worship service, and I look forward to hearing more of their “worship” during the service. 

4. We will do our best to sanitize key areas (doors handles, etc.) between church services. 

5. We’d encourage everyone to take personal responsibility for preventing the spread of the disease by following the recommendations from the CDC:

   1. In particular, if anyone in your family is feeling sick, please stay home and worship with us online. 

   2. If you are in one of the more susceptible groups (those over 60 and those with weakened immune systems), please worship with us online.

   3. Please ensure you wash your hands before and after the church service. 

6. Please contact the church if you’d like someone to visit or pray with you. 

7. At this time, other activities (small groups, bible studies) will continue at the discretion of group leaders. 

The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes the duties required by the Sixth commandment by saying, “The sixth commandment requireth all lawful endeavors to preserve our own life, and the life of others.” The recommendations from our government are intended to help preserve life, and thus we want to follow them. While the spread of coronavirus seems inevitable, slowing the spread provides relief to our healthcare system. A hospital can handle 1,000 additional patients over the course of a month much easier than 1,000 new patients over the course of a week. The above actions are in line with our government’s recommendations to preserve lives.

But we also feel a strong duty to have open doors at the church. We are thankful to live in a time when we can easily broadcast our services online, particularly for those who are most at risk can still worship. But we also believe that in a time when people are already isolated and fearful, locking the doors of the church sends the wrong message. We don’t believe that following Jesus will keep us from sickness; we do believe following Jesus keeps us from a fear of death. Writing in the fourth century, Eusebius gives us a description of the remarkable witness Christians provided during a plague that swept through Alexandria: 

Most of our brother-Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of the danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbours and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and curing others, transferred their death to themselves and died in their stead.

We are thankful for modern medicine that treats disease much better than that of the early church; I’d encourage all of us to consider how you can share the peace of Christ to those around you as our Christian predecessors did. In the following week we will be sending out additional emails about ways we can serve and spread peace during these uncertain times. In the meantime, if you need assistance don’t hesitate to contact the church or any of our elders or deacons. 

In Christ,

Pastor Jon