On Sunday, June 21, 2020 Zion will gather as an online community for Sunday worship and fellowship. We invite you to join us! Link to Livestream/Recording on Facebook (link goes live at 8:59 AM Sunday)
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 below.
9:30 a.m. (or immediately after worship): 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:
Exciting news! Zion will re-gather in person for outdoor worship services beginning on Sunday, June 28. Even as we gather in person, worship services will continue to be streamed online for the benefit of those unable to be present. We will gather on the lawn of the church under the following guidelines:
Members should stay at home and worship online if they or anyone in their household is sick or has symptoms: fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, loss of taste or smell. Persons who are at higher risk for severe illness (elderly or underlying health conditions) are strongly encouraged to stay home and worship online.
Participants will be seated on the lawn at a safe distance (6-feet between households). Please bring your own lawn chair. One you’ve taken your seat, please remain seated until the conclusion of the service.
The service will be brief (less than 45 minutes). Any singing will be limited.
Participants and worship leaders will wear masks or other face coverings. Masks will be provided for those who arrive without one.
Participants are urged to avoid handshakes, hugs, elbow-taps, or other forms of physical contact that do not honor the safe distancing precautions.
The church building will be closed except to worship leaders and those in need of an emergency bathroom break.
In case of rain, the outdoor service will be cancelled and worship leaders will livestream the service from the sanctuary on Zion’s Facebook page. Cancellations will be announced by 7:30 a. m. on Zion’s Facebook page and via the Zion News email list.
Any additional instructions for the service will be provided as participants arrive.
Outdoor worship is planned through the month of July. Watch the Zion News email for any updates and changes due to weather or a significant rise in local COVID-19 cases. The new “Re-Gathering Task Force” continues its work to develop a comprehensive COVID-19 Preparedness Plan for Zion and, in collaboration with the Worship, Music, and Adult Education Team, make plans regarding worship services. These plans are being developed under the guidance and recommendations of our synod, the ELCA, and state public health officials. The members of our Worship, Music, & Adult Education team are Mackenzie Jones, Mary Goodrich, and Janet Becker. The members of the Re-Gathering Task Force are: Dan Lowis, Matt Strum, Mike Bottin, Mackenzie Jones, and Pastor Andrea. Please contact any of these individuals if you have questions.
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 pastor@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 allows us to share more frequent updates with our church family, which is especially important as the present health crisis continues to impact our ministry.
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.
Help! 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!
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.
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: In order to limit traffic in the Church Office Suite and protect Zion staff, please use the table in the Narthex for picking up or dropping off items for the office. (A box is available on the table for collecting offerings or other messages.) A new “After Hours Drop Box” has also been installed next to the main entrance, to allow members to deliver notes, offerings, or return keys. 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 Zion activities for small groups continue to be permitted under the following safe distancing guidelines:.
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.
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.
Madelia Farmers Market is now open on Wednesdays from 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm. The new location is in the Church of Christ Parking Lot at the corner of Eager Avenue SE and 1st Street SE in Madelia.
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