Good Afternoon,
After an uneventful flight from Fort Myers to Syracuse, Kathy, Gracie, Annie, and I finally crossed the border into Canada yesterday late afternoon. Thank you so much for praying us home! It is great to be back in Kingston with Jonah and all of you! We are looking forward to creatively doing ministry and community with all of you in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
This afternoon I had a video conference call with the Parish Council Executive. As a leadership team, we are committed to continuing to do life with you, despite the current restrictions. Using the technology that we have available to us, we will continue to provide pastoral care and opportunities for discipleship, fellowship, and worship. Even though we cannot be present with each other in body, we are joined by the Holy Spirit, and can be together through telephone, email, our church website, and the various social networking platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Zoom. These names may mean nothing to you today; however, if you are open to change and to trying something new, you might just become a techno expert in the days ahead! If you would like help accessing our parish website, Facebook page, or YouTube channel, please let me know.
In the very near future, I hope to establish on-line Bible studies and provide reading lists and other resources for you to use at home to nurture your own spiritual life. My daughter, Gracie will also be posting resources for children and families on our Living Waters Facebook page and on our parish website.
Over the next few days, I will be calling each one of you to check in and see how you are doing and how we can support you and your family. In addition to your spiritual and social needs, you may have practical needs, such as groceries and prescription renewals that we can help you with. Some of you may develop financial difficulties as this crisis continues, and we want to be able to help you with that as well. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything (613-453-9140).
In order to inject a little “normalcy” into our lives, we will be holding a live stream worship from our living room on our Facebook page tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM. The link is below and you do not need have a Facebook account to watch. Just cut and paste it into your internet browser or you can use the Facebook app on your cell phone or tablet.
https://www.facebook.com/
I have attached the liturgy (an “ante-Communion”) with songs, so that you can print it ahead of time and join in with us. Please pray that technology cooperates and that we can come together in our various homes to worship our great and loving God as one body. If you are unable to join us Sunday at 10:00 AM, the video of our worship will be on our Facebook page and YouTube channel later in the morning. The sermon will also be available on our parish website in the resource section Sunday afternoon. March22 Ante Communion
We may not know what the days ahead hold. However, we do know one thing: Our God is good! And He is faithful to His promises. Even though everything around us might be shaking, our God cannot be shaken. He is our foundation. In this time of social distancing, isolation, and uncertainty–in the midst of your loneliness and fear–I encourage you to hold firm to the hope that we have in Jesus and to take the time to be still and know that He is God!
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
Chris+
Important Computer Links
Living Waters Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/
Living Waters Website
Living Waters YouTube channel