Three Rural Churches Doing Worship in a New Way In response to the pandemic, the three congregations of Sonrise Parish (St. John’s, Eustis; American, Cozad; and St. John’s, Cozad) moved to video-only worship beginning on March 18, 2020. Three months later, as warmer weather had arrived, the churches decided to do outdoor Word and Sacrament at each site on a weekly rotating basis, beginning at Eustis on June 14. A weekly virtual brief worship recording was also continued! The city street, parking lots, and grassy areas became the places to gather in lawn chairs or in cars in a physically-distanced manner. A low-power FM transmitter broadcasted to those who wanted to stay in their vehicles. A music group with percussion, guitar, horns, vocalists (and sometimes keyboard) led the services. For sixteen weeks through the end of September the outdoor services continued, with attendance ranging from 50-60 to as high as over 100. Two c...
By Morgan Tranmer, Administrative Assistant at the Nebraska Synod This year has brought to light the many places that I see God working in my life. COVID-19 quickly changed my daily patterns from community focused and social to lonely and isolating. In the matter of a few weeks, I had changed careers, moved to a new city, began to quarantine at home, and lost the many aspects of community that I valued. The political climate was shifting, people were calling for overdue social change, and I became increasingly anxious about the future, my role in this world, and how I would continue to serve my community in a positive way. So where have I seen God in all this? I tend to struggle with this question. My fear is that this simple question leads us to wonder where God is present only in the positive moments of our lives. It is easy to say that we see God in a beautiful sunrise or a random act of kindness. However, sometimes those ‘God moments’ can be hard to find while work...
By Deacon Connie R. Stover Director, Seeking the Spirit Within Today as I write this blog article, I cannot see the sun, and it is bitterly cold outside. It looks like the sun has disappeared and abandoned me, as the sky is a dulling, gray slate of sameness. I want to wrap myself in a warm, soft blanket and hibernate. But alas, today is the deadline for this article to be written. People are reaching out to me with their questions through phone calls, text messages and emails. As I sit at my computer, I realize that I am hungry. It is as if God is saying to me, “Arise! Wake up! Look around!” For me, God’s call to arise, wake up, and look around, comes each morning as I sit myself down in my sacred space to spend time with God. This is a daily intention to first look to God for the gifts of light and warmth in all days – the gray days of routine sameness and the bright days of exciting newness. If I ...
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