Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!
Psalm 95:2
Welcome Back! By the time you read this, we will have had our first in-person worship service at Holy Cross since March 15. If you are like me, you probably share the feelings of the Psalmist as he expresses the joy of being in the Lord’s house once again. If this pandemic has done anything positive, I believe that the joy and affection we have for Christ’s church and for Christ’s people has grown deep and sincere within our hearts.
I want to thank you all for keeping up with the video worship services. Wes and Diana Shelton have done a lot of work behind the scenes to help record, edit, and post our worship services to our YouTube channel. Through a recent grant of $5,000 from the Lilly Endowment, we will soon be able to upgrade our equipment, cameras, and software so that our on-line presence will continue to be an effective outreach tool for Holy Cross. While worshiping in person is at the heart of our life together, we are thankful for this opportunity to reach more people through electronic means.
To maintain the health and safety of our members and visitors, the church council has been working to put appropriate procedures and cautions in place. New communion procedures will be put into place as well as social distancing and hand sanitizing. For a time, we will need to avoid things we used to take for granted, like shaking hands and fellowship time after church. I beg for your patience as we all try to navigate the COVID landscape. Some things we will learn by trial and error. Please be assured that our only motivation here is your safety. You are encouraged to bring your thoughts and questions to me or to church council.
So, welcome back to church. While the seating options may have changed, one thing – the most important thing – has not and will never change. Jesus Christ is the same. He still intercedes for us. Jesus still forgives all our sins and promises eternal life by His Gospel. As a congregation, we are dedicated to sharing this Gospel for as long as we are able until the Lord’s return.
Please continue to pray for our congregation and each other during these times. Don’t forget to visit our church website www.holycross-crawfordsville.org to find links for all our services on YouTube. Also friend me on Facebook (Jeffrey Stone) to follow an almost-daily devotion.
God bless you and your family and may He grant you His peace now and forevermore.
Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!
Come to Holy Cross – Jesus is here – for you!
Your Servant in Christ our Lord,
Pastor Jeffrey Stone
Proverbs 3 Verses 5 to 6. [5] Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. [6] In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
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