March 12, 2020
 
Hello Everyone,

 

The leadership team has discussed the current situation concerning Covid-19 and the extraordinary efforts our community is making to try and stop it.  The current ban on meeting in Pierce, King, and Snohomish counties by the governor targeted all meetings that were larger than 250 people.  King and Snohomish will also be restricting meetings smaller than that by creating regulations concerning distance between people, cleaning, testing, etc.  It was unclear if Pierce would adopt those same regulations, but the intent of this meeting ban is clear.  We need to aggressively change the growth curve of the virus or the potential damage will be much greater than it needs to be.

 

Church is necessarily a close social function.  It is impossible to keep social distancing with all the kids etc.  In addition, because we all live such varied lifestyles our exposure at work and the rest of life would just be transferred to meeting together at church.
 
We want to stand in unity with this community effort as well as safeguard you and the more vulnerable among us and those in our community.  We do not want to operate out of fear but sober judgement and wisdom.  So, at this time we are moving our church services to online- streaming. Until further notice Thursday Family Night is canceled.  
 
I am looking into what it will take to run the adult Bible study from home and allowing for people to be able to be part of a discussion through Facebook.  I will attempt to have that up and running by next Thursday.  If that doesn’t work other alternatives will be explored.  Children’s ministries are also looking into how they can be implemented online.  More updates on that soon.
 
Sabbath church will also move to the online-streaming format.  The plan currently is that a small group of the worship team and I will meet at church and do the worship service and I will preach to an empty sanctuary and it will be streamed out to you online.  Regular start time.  I experienced that this week and while I had to refresh my computer once in a while (a problem on my end I think) it worked amazingly well.
 
There will be bumps and learning that will take place before we are efficient at it but I am thankful for Nichole’s efforts and the learning she has already done!  God was at work getting us ready just for this time.
 
This will be a trying time for our country, state, region, and even our church.  But I want you to know that Wellspring Fellowship is resilient.  We are creative and will continue to find ways to build our community, worship, and share the gospel during this temporary challenge. While we are not able to meet together in person, we are able to continue to support each other and care for each other through our communication and prayer. We are in for some bumpy times ahead, but God is still sovereign and there is great comfort in that fact! 
 
We will be staying connected constantly and evaluating and will make adjustments as the circumstances warrant.  We are hopeful that this meeting ban has its desired effect and we will move back onto the road to health and our normal routine.
 
Stay encouraged and be well,

Pastor Chris and the Leadership Team.