All in-person services have been cancelled until further notice.
Calvary Chapel Redding/Palo Cedro
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update as of Wednesday March 18th, 2020
CLICK HERE FOR SUNDAY SERVICE LIVE-STREAM
Dear Calvary Chapel Family,
In our letter dated March 13th, we advised you we would be canceling Sunday morning and Wednesday evening services, March 15th, and 18th, respectively, due to the ongoing and increasing spread of the COVID-19. We also stated we would continue to monitor the situation and keep you apprised of its effects on our ability to hold church services and our responsibility for the safety of our church family.
After considering the current situation, as well as the President’s request that there be no meetings larger than ten people, and after much discussion and prayer at our Elders meeting last night, we have decided on what we believe is the wise and prudent course of action to take for the next few weeks.
What we as a Nation are facing is a critical situation, unprecedented in our lifetime, these are uncharted waters. Still, we can rest assured that this has not taken the Lord our God by surprise; in fact, this is the providence of God and His purpose for us at this time. And so, we will together watch to see what God is going to do through all of this.
We believe it is of utmost importance for the Body of Christ to meet and worship corporately; we take the command of scripture to do so very seriously. Therefore, we do not take canceling our services lightly. However, in light of the unprecedented pandemic, we are facing, and in light of the President’s and the governing authorities’ requests to drastically limit the size of public meetings, we believe that the wise and prudent course of action is to cancel all the churches services until further notice. We believe this to be our duty as Christians, good citizens, and good neighbors. As we have already stated, none of us would want to be a carrier of a virus that might not significantly affect our health but would have a more devastating effect on another person.
I want to reiterate that we proceed with this course of action:
1.) Not out of fear, but rather out of an abundance of love and concern, and a desire to protect the flock at Calvary Chapel, especially the most vulnerable among us.
2.) Out of a desire to honor the requests of our President and governing authorities, to be good citizens who seek the welfare of our community, state, and nation, thus loving our neighbors.
3.) Out of a desire to be part of the solution to end this crisis, as opposed to an obstacle, that is, a contributing factor to the spreading of this virus and the prolonging of this pandemic.
So, effective immediately and until further notice, we are canceling our mid-week service, prayer meeting, Awanas, and youth group. We are canceling Home Fellowships, Men’s Fellowship, Women’s Study, Women’s Chit-Chat Luncheon, and Men’s Saturday Morning Prayer Meeting.
Our Sunday morning corporate worship service is also canceled. However myself, the elders, members of the Worship Team, and a few others will be at the church on Sunday morning, and we hope you will join us online for a time of worship and the preaching of God’s Word which will be live-streamed over our Facebook page and hopefully through our website as well, at our regular service time of 10:00 am.
As we are in the midst of this great trial that has descended upon our nation, we as Christians have the opportunity to demonstrate to the world, our unsaved neighbors, friends, and families that we truly believe what we profess with our mouths. This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the love of Christ in practical ways, to comfort the faint-hearted and the fearful, and to share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is said in the political realm to “never let a good crisis go to waste.” As Christians, let’s not let this crisis go to waste, but rather let us use it for the glory of God.
As a church, as we think about going forward, we are faced with a very real problem, and that is this, this church is supported solely by the regular giving of our faithful members. We are not going to be able to meet corporately for a while; we don’t know how long, so we are not going to have the opportunity to corporately worship the Lord with our giving.
So, we just want you to know that it is critical going forward to make sure that we are able to support the on-going ministry of this church. We need you to continue to support the church you love with your giving, which you may do in three ways.
Online giving is available on our website, or your tithes and offerings may be mailed to: Calvary Chapel Redding, P.O. Box 837, Palo Cedro CA 96073, or you may bring it by the office in person Tuesday through Thursday 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. I just wanted to remind you that this is critical as we are going through this trial together to sustain the work of this ministry.
Finally, during this time of not being able to gather together we want to encourage you to pray for myself and the elders, let’s pray for one another, look out for one another’s needs, help one another, encourage one another, call to check on one another, especially the older members of the church to see if they need anything and how we might help them. (As I write, a team of volunteers is organizing to deliver groceries and or medicines to members of our church family who need such services. So, if you are a Senior, or if you are ill and have no family members who can help, please contact one of the Elders, or the church office so we may be of help.)
Pray that God, in His tender mercies and compassion, would restore the health and strength of those who have been affected by this virus physically and economically. Pray for our President and Vice President, all our government officials, and all those who are leading the way in combating the virus. Pray that God would protect our church body and our community from this virus and that through this, He would give us opportunities to share the Gospel and the love and comfort of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Loved ones, God is in this, He has a plan, we can be sure of that, and He will see us through. In the midst of this storm, we have a sure and steady anchor in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Rock, our Redeemer, our Refuge, our ever-present help in the time of trouble. And so loved ones let us look to Christ, and let us cast all our care upon Him because He loves and cares for us.
We are looking forward to the day; prayerfully, it will be very soon, when we are all able to gather once again to worship our Lord and Savior together.
Until that day, may the God of all comfort and grace strengthen and sustain you, guide and protect you, Amen.
God bless you all. Please join us for the live stream Sunday at 10:00 am.
In Calvary love,
Pastor Jim and the Elders at CCR