Worship Service at 10:30 am for Next Two Sundays
On Dec. 27 and Jan. 3, there will be one service at 10:30 am…
Greetings New Life!
Because of the holidays, and to give our volunteers a little break, we will be having just one worship service on each of the next two Sundays.
On Dec. 27 and Jan. 3, there will be one service at 10:30 am. Masks will be required. Nursery, children's church, and our service livestream will all be available during this service. (Although, a reminder to parents that the nursery only will be closed this Sunday, Dec. 27.)
We will resume our two-service schedule at 8:30 & 11:00 am on Sunday, Jan. 10, with masks required at both services.
And don’t forget our Christmas Eve Service this Thursday night at 6:00 pm.
Please make a note of these changes, and if you are unable to join us tomorrow night, have a merry Christmas as you celebrate the good news that a Savior has been born to us!
Pastor Bob
New Life's Mask Policy Moving Forward
We want to thank you for your cooperation with this decision and give you an update on how we expect to move forward in the weeks ahead…
Greetings New Life!
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This Sunday will mark the second week that we will be worshiping together with a mask-required policy for both the 8:30 and 11 am services. We want to thank you for your cooperation with this decision and give you an update on how we expect to move forward in the weeks ahead.
First of all, we want you to know that the decision to require masks at second service was not an easy one to make, and was adopted only after much prayer, reflection, and discussion. We fully acknowledge that worshiping with masks on our faces is less than ideal, and it is our hope and desire that we would not only be able to return soon to a mask-optional service at 11 am, but that we eventually would return to a situation where masks are not required at any of our worship and fellowship activities at New Life.
Secondly, the session of the church does meet twice a month to discuss matters that are pertinent to the spiritual life of our congregation. There are a number of factors that we are considering with respect to Covid restrictions, and we will inform you as soon as we are convinced that it is safe and prudent for our congregation and our community to lift the mask-required policy.
If you choose not to attend worship in person at New Life, let us remind you that you can watch the service online at 11 am by going to newlifepca.org.
The session covets your prayers, so please intercede on our behalf as we seek the Lord’s leading for the benefit of all of you, the saints at New Life, and for the glory of Immanuel, God with us, who is Jesus, the Word made flesh.
Merry Christmas,
Pastor Bob
On behalf of the Session of New Life
Continuing Our Current Covid-19 Policy
We are aware that many of you might be concerned about the increase in Covid cases throughout the state of Indiana and in our community…
We are aware that many of you might be concerned about the increase in Covid cases throughout the state of Indiana and in our community, and perhaps are wondering about our plans for Sunday morning worship. The state of Indiana issued new guidelines last week, but it was noted that churches are exempt from the new restrictions.
With this in mind, we do plan to continue with our current worship policy — a mask-required service at 8:30 am, and a mask-optional service at 11:00 am. We would, however, strongly reiterate how important it is to follow basic safety guidelines when you are in the church building:
Be careful to maintain social distancing
Wash your hands frequently
Stay home if you are experiencing any symptoms or have been in contact with anyone testing positive
And be reminded that we will continue to livestream our service at 11:00 am each Sunday.
Thank you for your attention and sensitivity to these details, and please pray that God‘s protective grace be extended to all of us during this time.
My love to you all in Christ,
Pastor Bob
Nursery Reopening Sunday, Sept. 27
The nursery team is so excited to care for the children of our church again! At this time, nursery will only be offered during the first (8:30 am) service…
Dear New Life,
If you were at church this past week, you may have noticed something different about the playground. The deacons built us a fence! The fenced-in playground gives us a safer place for our children to play before/after church on Sunday as well as exponentially increases our space for nursery/children’s ministries.
With the increased outdoor space, the church nursery will be reopening this Sunday! The nursery team is so excited to care for the children of our church again! At this time, nursery will only be offered during the first (8:30) service. Since we will be spending a majority of our time on the playground in the mulch, we are asking that all children be able to walk independently. Because children’s church hasn’t reopened yet, we are extending the age limit to include four and five year olds temporarily. Consistent with the rest of the 8:30 service, all volunteers will be required to wear a mask. Children in the nursery are not required to wear a mask but are welcome to do so.
The nursery team has been hard at work making sure we can safely care for the children of New Life. Additional guidelines will be emailed to families of young children.
If you are interested in volunteering in the nursery, have any questions or would like to see our new guidelines, please contact me!
Blessings,
Ashley Brown
Communion Procedure for This Sunday
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been a few months since we have been able to celebrate the Lord’s Supper together…
Greeting New Life!
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been a few months since we have been able to celebrate the Lord’s Supper together. But this Sunday, finally, we will be able to partake of the bread and cup together again, as Jesus commanded us to do (1 Cor. 11:23-26). However, because of continuing concerns about the spread of COVID, we will however prepare for communion differently than normal.
When you enter the sanctuary this Sunday, you will notice two tables near the back on either side of the room on which will be placed individual pre-packaged cups, each containing a wafer and juice. As you enter, please pick up one package for each person in your family who will be partaking of communion, doing your best to avoid contact with the other cups.
This means that when Pastor Brian leads us in eating and drinking, we will not form a line to get the bread and cup, as we normally would do, but will remain seated and will partake from the pre-packaged elements.
If you will be watching the service from home, we would like to remind you that there are reasons why it is best not to observe communion apart from the gathered community of God’s people. A letter about this was sent to the congregation back in April, which you can review here.
As a reminder, this Sunday will also mark the beginning of our new sermon series, The Gospel According to Genesis.
As always, I’m looking forward to being with you all this Sunday, as we look by faith to Jesus to feed and nourish us by both word and sacrament!
Pastor Bob
Multipurpose Room Designated for Families with Children
Starting this Sunday, the multi-purpose room will be set aside during both services not specifically for overflow but for parents with young children…
Greetings New Life!
As we get ready to move to two services this Sunday morning, some parents might be wondering about child care. We have not had nursery services available for a while, and unfortunately the nursery will not be reopening for the two-service schedule.
However, starting this Sunday, the multi-purpose room will be set aside during both services not specifically for overflow but for parents with young children who would prefer not to be in the sanctuary and would still like to view the service by livestream. We would be delighted if as many people as possible were able to return to worship this Sunday and in the weeks ahead.
As a reminder, the first service will begin at 8:30 am, masks required (with some exceptions for children), and the second service will begin at 11:00 am (not 10:30), masks optional.
We hope to see you this Sunday!
Pastor Bob
August Church Updates & Clarifications
As we get ready to transition to two Sunday morning services next week, I have a few clarifying things to report to you about those plans…
Greetings New Life!
As we get ready to transition to two Sunday morning services next week, I have a few clarifying things to report to you about those plans:
This Sunday, August 9, we will have one morning worship service as normal at 10:30 am, with masks recommended.
The two-service schedule will begin Sunday, August 16. One service will be at 8:30 am, masks required. The second service will be at 11:00 am (not 10:30 am), masks optional.
Regarding children during the 8:30 am mask-required service, we will follow the guidelines provided by the state of Indiana:
Children under 2 years old should not wear masks;
Children between 2–7 years old are exempt from wearing masks;
Children aged 8 and up will be required to wear masks.
Some other items of note in the life of our church:
It is our intention to celebrate communion on Sunday, August 23. This will be actually the fourth Sunday of the month, but we thought it best not to conduct communion on our first two-service Sunday. Starting in September we will begin observing communion again on the third Sunday of each month. Communion will be handled differently than normal, in that a pre-packaged cup and wafer will be provided for each individual. (They look like this.)
It was announced many weeks ago that Ashley Brown will be taking over for Jessica Mowery as our children’s director, and that became official this past week. The Mowerys are moving to Wisconsin, and last Sunday was Jessica’s last day on the job. Jessica has served our children and families exceedingly well, and we will miss her greatly. An outdoor farewell party will be held for her Thursday, August 13 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm at the church. Please consider coming out to express your gratefulness and well-wishes to Jessica.
It was announced earlier that the new sermon series on Genesis would begin August 16, but that has been pushed back one week. The Gospel According to Genesis will start Sunday, August 23. Ruling elder David Lowry will preach this Sunday, and New Life youth director Andrew Brown will preach on August 16.
Thank you for your attention to these things!
Grace and peace to you in Christ,
Pastor Bob
Two Sunday Services Beginning in August
On Monday, the State of Indiana mandated the wearing of masks, and many of you are likely wondering how this will impact Sunday morning worship at New Life…
Greetings New Life!
On Monday, the State of Indiana mandated the wearing of masks, and many of you are likely wondering how this will impact Sunday morning worship at New Life. The elders have prayerfully discussed the situation and believe that the best solution is to offer two Sunday morning worship services—one that requires masks to be worn, and one that allows masks to be optional.
The state’s mask mandate does provide an exemption for those “engaged in a religious service,” so technically we are not required to make any changes as long as social distancing is practiced in our building, but the two-service option affords the best opportunity for the largest number of people to return to in-person corporate worship.
So here is the plan:
We will offer a service at 8:30 am each Sunday at which all participants will be required to wear masks at all times while inside the church building. No exceptions. If people arrive without masks, we will have masks available for them at the front doors of the church.
A second service will be offered at 11:00 am each Sunday at which masks will be optional, not required. Take note that the second service will be at 11:00 am, not the usual 10:30 am. We are tentatively committed to starting the two-service option on Sunday, August 16, depending on the preparations that will be required.
This also means that worship services on August 2 and 9 will continue as they have in the recent past—starting at 10:30 am, with masks recommended but not required. It would be a great help if all of us could consider how we might step up and serve, as it will obviously require more volunteer help to adequately staff two services.
The worship service will continue to be live-streamed even while we are offering two services. The desire is to eventually return to offering just one service, but that will depend on how circumstances unfold, which only our sovereign Lord knows.
Thank you all for your patience and understanding as we continue to navigate a very unpredictable and challenging time. As always, the elders’ ultimate desire is that the New Life congregation and people in our community can come to our church and worship the risen Christ freely, joyfully, and without anxiety. Pray that this may be so!
Pastor Bob,
on behalf of the session of New Life