Greetings St. Paul's Family,

In the wake of new restrictions brought forth by the state of Vermont, I wanted to write to you as your pastor about how we are operating our worship and ministries at this time. As well as our hopes moving forward.

Let me start by saying, we are the Church of Jesus Christ. We are people loved by God and a people given a light that no form of darkness can overcome, including Covid-19.

As I write this, I am reminded of the wonderful hymn, "We Are the Church" and the opening stanza that sings, "The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is the people." Indeed, the church is you and I and we are the church everywhere and at all times.

Sunday Worship Information:
Starting on Sunday, November 22, we are temporarily returning to online worship. This decision was made by myself, church leadership and members at large and is based on the following presented to us by Governor Scott and the state of Vermont Covid task Force.

In the last week our Green Mountain state has seen a 300% rise in the number of Covid cases. We went from being the safest state, with the least increase of cases at the start of October to being the second worse state in the nation in this category. To quote our Governor, "We have a faster spread of the virus this week then we did at any point in March or April." We are being asked not to have any face-to-face social activity with anyone outside our immediate family that we live with. Prior to this week we had an average of 50-60 people in attendance on Sunday and the number was growing. Frankly, there was no foreseeable way to have even half that many people at our in-house worship and maintain that mandate. No restaurant in town allows 50-60 people inside at one time, nor could we.

I hear and share in your frustrations in not being able to meet in person. Nothing brings me great joy, week in and week out, than to preach God's love to a body of people fully present in a beloved community.

-Here is the hope:
Governor Scott's restrictions are in place until December 15, at which time he will assess the emergency and determine to amend or extent. We will reassess as they are and have another Church Zoom meeting like the one we had on Sunday. If we see a flattening of the curve and an end to sizable increases in cases, we will certainly re-evaluate and look at returning to some percentage of in-house worship. The first priority will be to those who live alone and are isolated and to those who do not have access to the internet. Then we will move on with our reservation list.

-Here is what we are doing for worship:
We will continue to broadcast live from our sanctuary on Facebook and directly on our church's web page at https://saintpaulsvt.churchtrac.com

We are working on some exciting ways to make the worship experience more interactive and possibly even where you can see one another on screen during the experience. Look to see more options and improvements as we plan to always offer online worship even after the Covid issues are over.

If you do have access to internet but simply do not know how to access the church website on your iPad, phone or computer, please let us know and we will get you set up so that you can simply turn on your device and be on the church's web page. Everything we broadcast, announce or communicate can be found directly on our web page where you can watch everything with a click of a button. Please let us know if you need help setting up and using your device to access the online church information.

-For those of you who do not have computers or online capability:
We will continue to provide our service on Northwest Access TV.

For those of you who are without computers we are working on a way for you to call in on your phones and listen.

Meaningful Ministry for Anyone Feeling Isolated:
As pastor, my greatest concern is for those of you who are isolated. Especially those of you living alone and without any great deal of family in the local community.
-New and Improved "Devotional Dial-Ins" Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at Noon. Simply dial in 802-230-7976.

We have improved this to now include a better structure. We do five minutes of social time, an opening hymn, followed by listing joys and concerns and prayer. Then I share (or invite others to share) a devotion and close with the Lord's prayer on Tuesday and Thursday. Saturday is a simple social talk and time of gathering.

-Wednesday Night Advent Book/Bible Study Group 6pm (Meeting details TBA)
Starting Wednesday, December 2, we will have a Zoom Advent book Study. Please note: You can simply dial in to these meetings with your phone to participate. If you have a phone with a camera you will be able to see others and we can see you. If you don't have a camera you can still hear as well as talk to the group. (Idea from Faith Lafayette and Ann Parker.)

-Call each other and let Pastor Preston know if you or someone else would like to talk.
One thing I love about St Paul's is the manner in which you look out for one another in your visits, calls and cards. Keep the calls and cards up! In a church the size of St Paul's it isn't efficient for me to pick up a membership list and cold call people. So, I really do rely on people letting me know if they would like a call or if you know someone who could use a call to let me know by either emailing me, text, message, or call me or the office.

Keeping Busy in Labors of Love:
Now more than ever we need to be the Love of God for one another and the world. True Worship is living out our love of God and Loving our neighbor as ourselves. We are looking at creative ways of living out that love. In addition to our ministries we already have in place, we are offering these additional ways to serve and bring light to our world.

- Reverse Advent Food Boxes! (Start date Nov. 29-Dec. 24)
Remember those Advent calendars that you open and get a piece of chocolate? Well, this is kind of the reverse idea. We are sending out a list of very needed food items this weekend via email, Facebook and on the St Paul's web page. Every day of Advent, you add that food item to the box and say a prepared blessing as you add it. On Christmas eve your box of food will be complete. On Sunday, Dec. 27 from 11:30-Noon we will invite you to bring your Advent boxes to the church parking lot where we will do a Christmas Cram the Van with Northwest Family Foods. This is a fun way for you and your family to engage in Advent. Feel free to pass this idea along to others.

-Make Your Own Advent Wreath & Zoom Craft Party (TBA)
Pam McCarthy is organizing a Zoom craft party where people will be invited to make Advent wreaths together. If you can't make the craft part, you can simply use a wreath you already have or purchase one. During our online worship service, we will invite everyone to light their Advent candles as I do so in the sanctuary. We also encourage people to take and post pictures of their Advent wreaths and post them on our St Paul's Facebook page. (Idea from Pam McCarthy.)

-Light Up the Night! (Now thru Dec. 24)
For those households who are able, we invite you to decorate your home, apartment, lawn, or even just a window for the Christmas season and then post a picture of it on our church FB page.

Pastor Preston then will put together a list of everybody who has decorated so people can drive by and take a look at the decorations.

On December 18, Pastor Preston and family will take a drive to see each house on the list and will come up with an accolade for each one! Decorate away and let us know that you have decorated so that we can put it on the list.

-Church Wide Holiday Recipe Share! (Now Thru Dec. 15)
Send an email with a favorite Holiday recipe and we will post them on both Facebook and our St. Paul's web page. (Idea from Jane Ryan.)

- Pictures, Poems and Prayer Walks! (Now Through New Years)
It is important to get outside and get fresh air but why not bring back some of the joy of the outdoors and share it with everyone. As you take a walk feel free to take a picture of something that stands out. Maybe, even write a poem or a prayer about your walk. Please share them on our church Facebook page or you can send them via email and we will post them for you. (Idea by the Partlows.)

Youth and Young Disciples:
-Announcing Our New Sunday School Coordinator!
After serving many wonderful and fruitful years, Alicia Watts has stepped down from our Sunday School ministry. We are happy to announce that Jen Archambault is coming on board to bring continued light and love to our children and youth. While we cannot meet in person for Sunday School, she is committing to bring us one youth/family event per month. The first event will be "Yoga with Youth!"

-Yoga With Youth! (November 29 at Noon online)
Jen Archambault and a yoga instructor will be leading our youth and families on an online yoga class that will awaken your body and your soul. This is a very beginner friendly event.

-Children Sermon Question (each Sunday)
Each week during the children's message, Pastor Preston will ask a question. Children are invited to answer it by giving the answer in the comment section of the online worship. For every correct answer, Pastor Preston will send a small prize to your home.

"I am the Church! You are the Church! We are the Church together!"

As we are the church together, I invite you to send me any ideas, concerns, additional ministries or thoughts that you might have. We will get through this!

In the Peace of our Savior Jesus Christ,
Pastor Preston