On Sunday, June 7, 2020 Zion will gather as an online community for Sunday worship and fellowship. We invite you to join us! Our guest preacher will be the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Recording now available:
9:00 a.m.: Service of the Word led by Pastor Andrea Myers will be streamed live on Zion's Facebook page. An online bulletin with readings and responses is available to download.
9:30 a.m.: Musical offering by Sheldon Meyer, Zion's regular organist. He will be going live on his own Facebook page and we will share it to the Zion page as well.
10:00 a.m. Join us for a virtual coffee hour! Click on the link below with a device that has a camera. (If you've never joined a Zoom meeting before, you'll want to download the Zoom Client app before the start of the gathering.) You’ll be asked to allow the program to use “computer audio” – please agree. We look forward to seeing and hearing from you!
Meeting ID: 662 798 543 Password: 028537
Or Call: 1 312 626 6799 and provide the Meeting ID and password listed above.
This Week's Announcements:
Send Zion your mask photos! One of the ways our community is loving and serving our neighbors is with masks - wearing them, making them, donating for them, delivering them. Please send Zion your mask pictures so they can be included in a future worship service! Email to photos@zionluthlakecrystal.org or text to Pastor Andrea: 507-402-1114.
Sign up today for the new Zion News email list and receive periodic updates about worship and life at Zion Lutheran! A signup form is located on the church website. Email will allow us to share more frequent updates with our church family, which is especially important as the present health crisis continues to impact our ministry.
Invitation to Ecumenical Prayer: From Pentecost Sunday through the first Sunday in September, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and her Episcopal counterpart Presiding Bishop Michael Curry welcome congregations and individuals to regularly pray “A Prayer for the Power of the Spirit Among the People of God.” This prayer – crafted by a team of Lutheran and Episcopal prayer leaders in light of the COVID-19 pandemic – will connect us in common prayer and revive us for common mission, wherever and however we may be gathered.
June caring coins will be collected the entire month of June. The June recipient is Crossroads Campus Ministry. Please mark ‘caring coins’ on your checks.
We are looking for the church key that is typically kept in the church kitchen. Please check to see if you might have it and get it returned to the church. Thank you!
Thank you for your faithful financial support of Zion’s ministries during this challenging time. It’s been wonderful to see how many of you have continued to share your offerings as you’d planned for 2020. Offering can be mailed to the Church Office (PO Box 236, Lake Crystal) or dropped off at the church. Please consider our eGiving options for making one-time or recurring donations electronically. Details available at: https://www.zionluthlakecrystal.org/giving.
Church Office Update: If you are picking up or dropping off materials for the Church Office, please use the table in the Narthex provided for that purpose, in order to limit traffic in the Church Office and protect our staff. There is now a box for putting your offerings in when you drop them off. Visitors in the church building are expected to wear masks or other face coverings. New summer office hours begin Monday: 8-2:30 pm Mon, Wed and Thursday, 8-noon Tuesday, and closed on Fridays.
In-Person worship services continue to be suspended until further notice. Worship services are being streamed via Facebook so that we can gather as a virtual community for prayer, reflection, and praise.Plans are being developed for the time when we are able to resume in-person worship services. We will need to plan for sufficient physical distancing as well as mitigate the risks of virus spread through the aerosols that are an inevitable part of breathing, speaking, and singing as we usually do in worship. One possibility under consideration is to hold smaller, possibly outdoor services while continuing to gather online on Sunday mornings. As future plans come together, Zion leaders will be guided by public health recommendations from our synod, the ELCA, and our state officials. If you have questions or concerns, please contact a member of our Worship, Music, & Adult Education team (Mackenzie Jones, Mary Goodrich, and Jan Becker), our current Zion president (Dan Lowis), or Pastor Andrea.
In-Person Zion activities for small groups have now resumed, under the following guidelines approved by the Congregation Council:
No more than 10 people, including leaders, will meet in the building at any time.
Only certain places of the building should be occupied (for cleaning purposes): Narthex, Fellowship Hall, New Bathrooms.
Groups should contact the church office (507-276-2849) to reserve the building.
Visitors will register at the front door with sign in and sign out.
Social distancing must be observed (6+ feet).
Wearing masked is expected.
No singing or unison speaking/praying (Lord’s Prayer).
No communal food or beverages, and no use of the kitchen (may bring your own, but no sharing).
Zion groups should observe these guidelines whether they're meeting in the building or elsewhere. Phone or video conferencing options should continue to be used when appropriate, particularly for individuals over 65 and those with underlying health conditions (such as heart or lung disease or diabetes) who are at greater risk of severe illness or death from Covid-19. If your group would like assistance with setting up a Zoom video conference, please reach out to Pastor Andrea.
News and updates are being shared primarily through the church website and Facebook and, when appropriate, by mail. The June newsletter will be mailed June 30.
Pastor Andrea is available for conversation and prayer! Please reach out to her by phone or text at 507-402-1114. She’s also happy to schedule one-on-one pastoral visits via Zoom video conferencing.
The Monday “Dwelling on the Word” study is now meeting online via Zoom. Newcomers are always welcome to join in this time of prayer, reflection and conversation centered around the gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday. To join us on Monday at 11:00, please go to: https://zoom.us/j/322134420.
The US census is hiring! Go to “2020census.gov/jobs” if you are interested. Pay in Blue Earth County is $17/hour. Call 720-606-9047 with questions.