Dearly Beloved,
As you all know, “Stay at Home” orders are being put into place
throughout our country and state. Buncombe County ordered this a couple
of days ago, Henderson County’s order goes into effect today, and North
Carolina’s statewide order goes into effect Monday, March 30, at 5:00
p.m. We know the disease COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus, is
spreading throughout our communities and the “lock-down” orders are
impacting all of us in so many ways.
From our perspective, as members of All Saints Church, the spread of the
virus has stopped our assembling together for worship and fellowship
during this difficult time, when it seems we need it most. Indeed, our
prayer book tells us that it is our “bounden duty…to follow Christ, to
worship God every Sunday in his Church; and to work and pray and give
for the spread of his kingdom (p. 291).” The “every Sunday in his
Church” part of worshipping is the duty we cannot fulfill right now (or
can we? Keep reading for an answer). But that is okay! The prayer book,
and hence the teaching of the Church, recognizes that in times of
“extremity of sickness…or any other just impediment (p. 323)” it may not
be possible for people to come to the parish church. But let’s put that
aside for right now and look at our other bounden duties.
“To follow Christ.” This may seem obvious but it is THE essential thing.
No matter the circumstances we find ourselves in, our Savior Jesus
Christ says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) This is the
definition of being a disciple. Denying oneself means that we define
ourselves only as followers of Christ. We carry whatever burden we have
gladly for him (such as our present circumstances) and let only His
light shine in and from
us. After all, he told us, that as his disciples, we “are the light of
the world.” (Matthew 5:14) And following him leads to our other bounden
duties: work, pray, and give for the spread of his kingdom.
- “Work” This means to actually do something to help spread the kingdom. We all have differing talents that lend themselves to this work but these talents and gifts are meant for the work of evangelism, the telling forth of the Good News of Christ. For most of us, our talents are not the spectacular kind of things that St. Paul or St. Peter were able to do. Most people work “behind the scenes” like the women that followed Christ did during his earthly ministry. Whether it is a kind word (and we so need these right now), a simple smile, a helping hand, mentioning Christ to others, or other seeming small gestures, all these add up in spreading the kingdom.
- “Pray” Here is the one that goes without saying. It is through prayer, the placing of ourselves in God’s presence and talking to him, that we express our faith in our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and the Holy Spirit. When we have such faith to be constantly in his presence in prayer, we have been promised that we can move mountains, meaning that spreading the kingdom shall be accomplished.
- “Give” The final duty on the list. If we are working and praying for the spread of the kingdom, we must also give of our resources to make it happen. These resources can be small or great, but our giving must be done abundantly, as the widow in the temple showed us when she gave her two mites.
Now I have listed these three duties
separately to help explain them but that really is a false division. All
of these bounden duties are present in a disciple of Christ. You
actually cannot split them out and decide that you can do one or two and
be “good to go.” All three must be manifest in each and everyone one of
us, fully and completely!
So now let’s go back and think about fulfilling our worship duties. The
Church teaches that “the Church is the Body of which Jesus Christ is the
Head, and all baptized people are the members (BCP, p. 290).” Note that
the prayer book capitalizes the word Church. This word does not mean
All Saints Church. It means the Church Universal, militant on Earth,
expectant in Paradise, triumphant in Heaven. If you are a member of
Christ’s Body, the Church, whenever you worship, you are worshiping
within the fellowship of the Communion of Saints. It actually does not
matter where you are. If you as part of the Church are worshiping, you
are worshiping in the Church! How glorious that truth is and I find it
particularly liberating in this time of crisis. Now, be careful here.
Don’t take this as permission to start worshiping on the golf course on
Sunday mornings when this crisis abates! St. Paul in his letter to the
Ephesians makes it clear that we physically must be together for the
“perfecting of the saints.” For it is only when we gather that all the
gifts of the Church will be made manifest to us and in us. For now, we
can worship together, yet separately.
Here is one of the beauties of our Anglican Way of Christianity. We can
worship together, yet separately, when we pray the Daily Offices of
Morning and Evening Prayer when we are at home. When we do so, we are
adding our voices to the prayers of the Church Universal. Our prayer
book gives us an order, a plan, to ensure we are praising and worshiping
God fully and completely in prayer, song (psalms), and scripture. To do
so is to enter into that glorious fellowship of the Communion of
Saints, the Communion of our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Live-Stream
In order to help in our worshiping together, yet separately, we have
begun to live-stream our services from the church. The big “reveal” will
be tomorrow morning, Sunday, March 29, at 11:00 a.m. with the Litany
& Holy Communion. Brian will be here so we will have music also. We
will do what we normally do at our 11:00 a.m. Sunday Communion. We will
be streaming live on Facebook and also on our website. The website
option will allow you to see the Order of Service.
- The link for Facebook is www.facebook.com/allsaintsmillsriver
- The link for the Website stream is: live.allsaintsmillsriver.org
If you use the website, you may click on the word “Notes” at the bottom of the right-hand side of the viewing screen to open the order of service. If you go straight to the website on your own, instead of using the link above, click on the “All Saints Live” button on the front page.
The Live-Stream feeds will begin five minutes before the hour.
Basket Raffle
One of the things we put in place to help in the costs for our national church’s synod this summer (which we are hosting) was to hold a basket raffle, as the Ladies do with their Craft Market in the fall. Unfortunately, as soon as we started to sell tickets, this corona virus thing happened, so ticket sales have been thin! But we have a solution! We have posted all the baskets online with pictures and the ability to buy tickets. Now is your chance. Click here to see the baskets and buy your tickets now! And please be sure to share this with your friends in the area and get them to join with us. The baskets are absolutely awesome and we will deliver them to you before Easter, even as we are in “lock down!”
Love in Action
Thank you to everyone who responded quickly and generously to our appeal for our local food banks. It is such a tremendous help to our partner organizations who directly help those in need. Over the course of the next month, as we are in stay-at-home mode, this need will continue. Nearly all of you will have to go to the grocery store at some point, so please do not forget those less fortunate than we are. The food bins will still be outside the front entryway of the church for you to drop off your items, Monday through Thursday. The items needed are as follows:
- Non-perishable food items—canned meats, pasta, pasta sauce, cereals, peanut butter, canned beans, etc.
- Personal items—soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrushes (adult and child), deodorant, and shampoo.
The Parish & COVID-19
I am happy to report that no one in our parish has been diagnosed with the disease.
Please keep us up-to-date with your circumstances. If you find you are in need of something, please give us a call. We have several members who are willing and able to head to the grocery store or pharmacy for you.
Remember—We are Open!
Churches are included in the “essential” businesses and organizations which may remain open during the mandated “stay-at-home” order. If you are on your way to or from work or going home from necessary shopping, etc. please feel free to stop by this one place you can be assured that Christ is present at the altar. The church will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Sundays and also from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
I think is about all you need to know at this moment. God bless you all and may He grant you health and safety during this time.
Yours ever in Christ,
Fr. Erich
This Week in the Parish
Sunday, March 29, Passion Sunday
· 8:00 a.m., Doors Open
· 11:00 a.m., Livestream Holy Communion
· 5:30 p.m., Livestream Evening Prayer
Monday, March 30
• 9:00 a.m., Office & Doors Open
Tuesday, March 31
• 9:00 a.m., Office & Doors Open
Wednesday, April 1
• 9:00 a.m., Office & Doors Open
Thursday, April 2
• 9:00 a.m., Office & Doors Open
