We invite you to join us on Sunday morning for our live stream services. The services will start streaming at 8a and 10:30a on our Facebook page. We are also live streaming our Wednesday Night Adult class at 7p on Wednesday Nights. You do not need a Facebook account to watch!
Dear Beloved in Christ,
Grace and peace to you all! The Apostle Paul often opens up his letters this way because we all need the grace of Christ and the peace of God that follows it. I understand the fear that many people have right now for themselves, neighbors and their loved ones.
The decisions we are making today, and in the weeks ahead, are all done to fulfill the great commandment that we Love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that we love one another as ourselves. Like Jesus, we are called to care for the least, the lost, and the lonely. Whether that is through worship, online, in Guatemala, on the phone, or out in the community, COTHA will continue to be the hands and feet of our Lord, the body of Christ present on earth.
Just a few hours ago, the Bishop emailed all clergy and has asked all parishioners in the Diocese to worship from home for at least the next two Sundays. I will be leading worship alone from our sanctuary and recording and streaming it online for all of us to worship together. We will email you by Saturday with details on how to watch online. Again, the church will be closed, but worship of the living God and the proclamation of the Gospel will continue.
We are not attempting to stop the spread of the virus. We are attempting to slow the spread down to a low multiple, so our health systems may be at their best and provide rooms and ventilators for those that need it. Moreover, we are seeking to protect our older, immunocompromised and immunosuppressed community members. As Governor Abbott said this morning, the virus is spreading throughout the state. And reports are that the virus is contagious for at least 5 days before clinical symptoms appear. This is why Harris County (where the property of COTHA resides) recommends no gatherings of 10 or more people.
With that in mind, we are canceling our Wednesday night dinner, teaching and student and children’s groups for at least the next two weeks.
We are already in conversation about how to distribute food to those in need, and we are reaching out to local food pantries to see how our church can support those in quarantine and in need of food. Please reach out to us with your needs. This is not a time to say “I don’t want to bother the church.” I know the staff and vestry stand by to serve as well.
With that said, I encourage you to reach out to parishioners and neighbors that may need help. As the Spirit encourages you, be a part of the priesthood of all believers and reach out with a phone call to those who are alone or in need. Trust me, they will appreciate it, and it will be a blessing to you.
As always you are able to give online at www.cotha.org/give. And in the weeks to come we will pass on information on how you can give to specific ministries of our community that are in need the most right now. We will not shrink back but continue to love and serve our neighbors in the most helpful and loving way possible.
This is, of course, not business as usual. But our mission and message are still the same. We will continue to be a Biblically faithful community that connects people to Christ through love in action. And we will continue to be a church that exists for those who are not here yet.
I will close now with a prayer offered by Bishop Doyle. I invite you to pray this and other prayers in the days ahead. And again, we will be in touch tomorrow about how we can all gather online on Sunday.
I plead with you in Christ’s name to help us with your prayers to God so that we may prevail against the forms of sickness and death that now are before us. Join us in prayer that Christ may preserve in us strong faith, fervent love, and strength to meet the challenge of the days ahead. Help us to become a missionary people following the example of the woman at the well. Help us to understand how to worship not in temple or mountain top but in our homes, communities, and neighborhoods. Pray that God will give us a vision for how to gather God’s people in a time of sickness. Show us how to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to you. Reveal the way to care for the infirmed, the dying and the dead. Help us to strengthen the faithful with the hope of Christ’s Good News. Inspire us to continue to serve without reproach, so that your people may be strengthened and your Name glorified.
Amen.
In Christ,
Alex Large
Prayers to lift up those directly affected by these circumstances:
For Doctors, Nurses, and those who care for the sick:
Sanctify, O Lord, those whom you have called to the study and practice of the arts of healing, and to the prevention of disease and pain. Strengthen them by your life-giving Spirit, that by their ministries, the health of the community may be promoted, and your creation glorified; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For those who are ill:
Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd of the sheep, you gather the lambs in your arms and carry them in your bosom: We commend to your loving care all those who suffer from any illness or disease. Relieve their pain, guard them against all danger, restore to them your gifts of gladness and strength, and raise them up to a life of service to you. Hear us, we pray, for you, dear Name's sake. Amen.
For the clergy and people of the Diocese of Texas:
Almighty and everlasting God, from whom comes every good and perfect gift: Send down upon our bishops, and other clergy, and upon the congregations committed to their charge, especially during this time of concern and illness the healthful Spirit of your grace: and, that they may truly please you, pour upon them the continual dew of your blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honor of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.
For Doctors, Nurses, and those who care for the sick:
Sanctify, O Lord, those whom you have called to the study and practice of the arts of healing, and to the prevention of disease and pain. Strengthen them by your life-giving Spirit, that by their ministries, the health of the community may be promoted, and your creation glorified; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For those who are ill:
Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd of the sheep, you gather the lambs in your arms and carry them in your bosom: We commend to your loving care all those who suffer from any illness or disease. Relieve their pain, guard them against all danger, restore to them your gifts of gladness and strength, and raise them up to a life of service to you. Hear us, we pray, for you, dear Name's sake. Amen.
For the clergy and people of the Diocese of Texas:
Almighty and everlasting God, from whom comes every good and perfect gift: Send down upon our bishops, and other clergy, and upon the congregations committed to their charge, especially during this time of concern and illness the healthful Spirit of your grace: and, that they may truly please you, pour upon them the continual dew of your blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honor of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.