Since the beginning of the placement of COVID19 restrictions, I have felt like Charlie Brown when he sees Lucy holding the football in the Peanuts cartoon.  He knows that the minute he goes to kick the football, Lucy will move it again.  He knows this because every time he’s come up to the football Lucy has held for him, she moves it and he falls on his behind. 
 
These past few weeks have felt like someone keeps moving the ball.  Do you know what I mean?  From the time we started adjusting our lives to slow the spread of the virus, we have taken one step, almost gotten used to it, and then were required to take another step.  It’s the changing nature of our lives now. 
 
I’m exceptionally grateful for a conversation I had on Monday where Eric Peterson and I moved quickly in anticipation of this next “ball move” and have been recording as much as we can as quickly as we can.  He’s a saint and I know you all have appreciated him and all of the others who are making our online worship experience a reality.
 
On Tuesday our Bishop announced that he is asking congregations to suspend in-person worship until at least May 10.  That’s another “ball move” for us, but at least one we had anticipated.  Bear with us as we make plans to celebrate Easter from our couches.  It will be unforgettable in the sense we’ve never done it this way before.  But we will celebrate Easter none-the-less.  Nothing stopped Jesus from rising from that grave and changing our world forever.  Easter will not be cancelled.  Jesus is still risen from the dead, and we will celebrate his resurrection on Easter Sunday.  We will just be doing that from our own homes, connected together even as we are physically apart. 
 
Which reminds me of the truth about “ball moves” and Lucys in our world.  No matter what changes around us, there is one constant in our lives.  The Psalmist says it this way:  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. (Psalm 46:1-3)  No matter what changes in our lives, no matter how many Lucys are moving balls in front of us, no matter which sort of restrictions on our movements are necessary, no matter what the nature of the stock market, no matter if you were an adequate “home-schooling” parent this week or not, one thing never changes:  God is our refuge and strength, our help in trouble!  I pray you find ways to lean on God’s strength in these “stay at home” days we are in.
 
Blessings,
Pastor Becky Jo 

While our building is closed to outside groups and our in-person ministry is suspended, we are still in ministry and mission.  Here’s what you need to know.
 
Worship
For now, in-person worship is suspended.  We will worship together via various media on our website (http://www.prairiechurch.org/).  Each Sunday you will discover a new video worship service and a new video children’s message.  Each Wednesday a new audio recording of a meditative worship experience will be available on the website (in keeping with our mid-week Lent Worship Experiences). 
 
Children’s Ministries
Rachel, Jody and Kay are offering various Sunday School lessons and ministries through a private Facebook page.  Contact Rachel (rachelc@prairiechurch.org) to get connected.
 
Youth Ministries
Youth Group meetings resumed via Zoom last night.  If you didn’t get connected and want to, contact Terri (terrim@prairiechurch.org).
 
Practice Zoom
So many of our live experiences with each other will be delivered via Zoom.  I would encourage you to download the app on your device with a camera and microphone (computer, phone or tablet) to be ready to participate.  I’ll be hosting a practice Zoom session this Saturday morning from 10 – 11 a.m. for anyone who wants to test the technology before participating in a group.  Follow this link to join: https://zoom.us/j/4455694215
 
Growing in Faith
Opportunities to grow in your faith are available virtually.  Email your interest in participating as indicated below and we will connect you to the growth experience.

• Monday evening Bible Study with Pastor Becky Jo – you only need to bring your Bible and join in the Zoom conversation at 7 p.m.  Email Pastor Becky Jo (beckyjom@prairiechurch.org) to register and get a Zoom invitation (or instructions to call in, or a print copy).
• Tuesday Afternoon at 3 p.m. Lectio Divina with Gwen Pickering – Lectio Divina is a spiritual practice of reading, meditating and praying the scriptures.  You don’t have to know anything about it to join in.  Gwen will lead you through the practice together.  Please email Gwen your interest in participating gwenpickering@gmail.com
• Wednesday Simple Worship audio recording can be found on our website.  We continue to focus on the theme of Reconnecting with an Unhurried God.  If you would like the audio file emailed to you instead of locating it on our website, email your request to Becky (beckyc@prairiechurch.org)
• Thursday Evening Prayers at 9 p.m. on Facebook with Pastor Becky Jo.  Just look for it on our church Facebook page at 9 p.m. on Thursdays.  I picked this time because I am hoping it’s a good time for parents of little ones who may have put their children to bed by this time and can offer themselves a dedicated time of prayer.  I won’t be “live” tonight (recording worship at that time) but hope to be live every Thursday night at 9 p.m. after tonight.
• Friday Gratitude Conversation at 10 a.m. – It’s so easy to focus on all the things we have to do without, rather than all the ways we are being blessed in this season.  Join Gwen Pickering for a conversation via Zoom to remind us of all the things for which we have to be grateful.  Email Gwen your interest in participating at gwenpickering@gmail.com

 
Giving to the ministries of EPUMC and our partners
As you can see, our staff are working adaptively to be in ministry with you in new and innovative ways.  In addition, we are continuing to serve various ministry partners like Pride Institute, PROP, Sheridan Story, UMCOR and Simpson Shelter in new and changing ways.  Please continue your generous support of the ministries of the church and our ministry partners.  You do not have to be in the building to give.  You can find online giving opportunities on our website (http://www.prairiechurch.org/) or use the Give+ App we talked about a few weeks ago (again, information is on our website).
 
 
 

Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Excerpt from Dr. Lynn Ungar’s poem Pandemic, the full text is found here http://www.lynnungar.com/poems/pandemic/

Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together. All things connect.
Adapted from the words attributed to Chief Seattle, 1854
 
God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.”
Genesis 2:18 (The Message)
 
There’s something absolutely beautiful about the way that God has created this interconnection to our lives.  We were made for community and for connection. God saw from the very beginning that we needed this deep and interdependent relationship with one another. Sometimes we forget how connected we are spiritually and physically to people who live on the other side of our globe. These past few months have been a reminder of that truth!  The lives of the people of China and Italy and Iran and America are woven together in such a way that what one person does in one place affects us all. To deny that truth is to deny the very nature of how God created us!  Ungar, Chief Seattle, and the writer of the Genesis 2 creation story knew this deep, spiritual truth!
 
I entered ministry, first because God called, and second, because community and connection were so vital to me.
I wanted to be a part of creating community and connection across the generations in a way that helped people know God more fully and live their lives more alive in the Spirit of God.
 
But here we are, socially distancing from one another.  Except for a handful of you, I haven’t seen your lovely faces in a while. I haven’t hugged a person other than my husband in a long time (too long for me!)
 
I wonder about the people who have felt that kind of isolation long before the outbreak of the pandemic. I wonder about people who have felt distance from the community of the church because they can’t come to worship at the time we offer it, or they don’t feel they have the right clothes, or they are worried about their acceptance, or they can’t get themselves to show up because of mental health issues. I wonder about people who have been isolated from the very community we are trying to create here.

If there is a blessing, it is that we are learning to do connection and intimacy, community and church through a wider variety of media. I have had a meeting via Zoom (it was delightful!) and worship virtually with many of you. I have held spent more time that I would have thought on the phone offering care from a distance that was safe for both myself and the person for whom I was caring. Later today I will connect with my best friends virtually for support, and next week we will have our normal lunch while looking at one another on a screen. 
 
Can we do church this way?  Turns out we can!  We didn’t learn that as fully as we did until we had to. That’s the nature of human learning, I think. But it turns out we can do church in new and innovate ways that may in the end connect more people than ever to the life-giving love of Jesus. That is a good and beautiful thing! So let’s learn whatever we can in this season of doing church differently in the hopes that God is reshaping us to be more relevant than ever in our times. So be it!
 
Pastor Becky Jo Messenbrink

Friends,
 
This is a unique and important season for us.  Just when I thought I knew how we would respond, I heard the CDC’s mandate for no gatherings of 50 or more for the next 8 weeks.  That significantly changes our planning and efforts.  How will we be church in a season when we lack the ability to gather in-person with one another is going to take creativity, a willingness to learn something new, and the love and grace of Jesus flowing through us.  Thank you for your patience as we make the best decisions we can at the time.
 
On the recommendation of the CDC, the MDH, and our Bishop, we will suspend all in-person small groups, meetings and worship for now.  How long that will last is yet to be seen.  As you know, details and recommendations are changing rapidly.  We will continue to communicate changes to this decision via email on Mondays and Thursdays (an in between as becomes necessary).  If you lead a small group or team in the church, please be in touch with your folks to be certain everyone knows the in-person meetings will be suspended for now.
 
We are still going to be church!  That means that our “big enough to make a difference, small enough to care” needs to show. 
 
Here’s some ways we can be “small enough to care” in these changing times:
 

• Online Worship will continue to be the method of worshiping together.  I am so grateful to Eric Peterson for his professional efforts this past weekend.  Eric, Megan, KT and I are working to continue to deliver a weekend worship experience that will be available on our website on Sunday morning.  I hope you will make an effort to tune in with your family and be blessed by gathering “together” with EPUMC.
• Children’s Ministries are a top priority for our community and will continue to be in these changing times.  Rachel, Jody and I will be working to create experiences for children to keep them connected to the church community, to one another, and to the amazing story of a God who is always with us.  Stay tuned for more information on that.
• Staying connected as a community is a high priority.  I am working with a few leaders to organize a system of care and connection.  If you want to be a person who shepherds over a small portion of our congregation, checking in with them and sharing connection and community, please email your willingness to rsvp@prairiechurch.org.  We will be in touch with you.  Rachel and I are also working on a system of getting our younger households relationally engaged with our older households even while we cannot do that in person.  Stay tuned for that opportunity as well.
• Growing in our faith doesn’t take a break while we are isolated physically.  I will personally be working on ways to deliver spiritual growth opportunities, either recorded and available or virtually in real time through an online meeting service.  If this interests you, you can email your interest to rsvp@prairiechurch.org
• Praying with and for one another is an essential part of our community.  We will share prayers in each Monday and Thursday email with the entire congregation.  You can send your prayer requests to Becky in the office at office@prairiechurch.org  And I encourage you to make a daily habit of praying for one another.

 
Here’s some ways we can be “big enough to make a difference” in these changing times:

• Sheridan Story serves children in Eden Prairie (and beyond) who have food insecurity at home.  Normally that is a bag of food that goes home with a child for the weekend.  With school out, hundreds of thousands of children are facing a substantial increase in food insecurity.  Sheridan story is working with the Eden Prairie School District (and others) to provide a nutritious source of food directly to children.  To continue quickly adapting and moving forward through this dynamic situation, Sheridan Story needs additional support from the community to ensure children have food for every meal.  Sheridan Story has added food packing events for small groups (with proper social distancing) while taking extreme precautions to maintain a sanitary environment before, during and after each packing event. If you are healthy and able, you can volunteer on their website (https://www.thesheridanstory.org/)  At that same website you can make a financial donation to sustain their increased efforts to feed our children.

 

• PROP Food Shelf has also stepped up their efforts to provide food for our most vulnerable neighbors who need services more than ever.  PROP has made significant changes to help keep their doors open, as well as limit the exposure for clients, volunteers, and staff.  PROP could use your help to continue to keep the food shelf stocked, by giving financially on their website (https://propfood.org/).  You can donate food at the church right now.  The most immediate needs of which are canned beans such as kidney, black and baked; canned soups of all kinds; canned fruit; canned chicken and tuna; and coffee. See the website for instructions on delivering food to PROP in person (hint, you won’t be getting out of your car).  You can also donate food to be delivered to PROP on Amazon.  PROP’s address is 14700 Martin Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344

 

• United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is on the frontlines of the response to COVID 19 concerns, as well as other international and national disaster needs, as they always have been.  This Sunday in worship we were going to take the UMCOR offering that supports their infrastructure so that they are ready to respond when disaster strikes.  I encourage you give an UMCOR gift when you are making your regular offering to EPUMC.  You can do that via check, online on our website, or via the Give+ ap.

 
You are an amazing group of faithful people who are still finding ways to be “big enough to make a difference, small enough to care.”  We are followers of Jesus, and now more than ever our care and compassion for one another and for the world around us needs to be lived out.  Join me in our efforts to be the body of Christ in these changing times.
 
Blessings to you and prayers for our world,
Pastor Becky Jo Messenbrink