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June 20, 2020 Poor People’s Campaign and Black Lives Matter

On June 20, 2020, The Mass Poor People’s Assembly & Moral March on Washington is going digital! On June 20th, the PPC will hold the largest digital and social media gathering of poor and low-wealth people, moral and religious leaders, advocates, and people of conscience in this nation’s history. This was originally scheduled as an in-person gathering on the Mall in Washington to address the roots and causes of systemic racism, inequity and injustice. This is a national event. Our Synod has committed to supporting the work of the Poor People’s Campaign. If you would like to attend, you can find more about it here.

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Happy Easter

Tomorrow’s Service is available on our Facebook Page, Facebook Live, at 10:00 a.m. Please also check our Sunday School Facebook page for special home and family related Easter activities. Please also check our Sunday School page here on the website.

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Day 28 of Lent, April 1, 2020

Today’s Morning Prayer is available on our St. Paul Cape Ann Facebook page. Bible Study is schedule for noon today. Please write to us at office@stpaulcapeann.org or to Pastor Anne at pastor@stpaulcapeann.org if you would like the link to join the bible study. We are reading Isaiah, and will start today with chapter 62. If you would like to explore more of Isaiah, please go to Enter the Bible, a website of wonderful research, commentary and study help published by Luther Seminary. You can find that link here.

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ST. PAUL COVID-19 UPDATE

Dear Friends,

As you know from yesterday’s FYI, we have been considering the best ways we can be church in this time of pandemic. We wanted to respond thoughtfully and prayerfully, in a spirit of peace, not of panic. Early this week, after the Council meeting, we formed a small preparedness team to advise the Council.

Today, we decided to postpone physical gatherings including Sunday worship for at least the next two Sundays, March 15th and March 22nd. We made this decision after much deliberation and consultation.  We all feel the sadness of this decision, but we feel it is the wisest and most compassionate decision based on what we know.  We plan to experiment with various forms of virtual church. This Sunday, we will broadcast a Facebook Live service at 10:00 a.m. Theodore Stoddard and I will be testing this out. We look forward to seeing what will happen.

We know that not all of you are on Facebook, so we will be trying other online platforms next week. We will keep you posted.  Virtual church has been around for several years, and I’m excited that we are going to try this way of being church, even as I mourn the loss of our physical gatherings for worship.

I will be updating you on other activities during these two weeks; for now, all our regular gatherings are postponed.  We ask for your patience and your help, should you have ideas as we go forward. I will work on virtual bible study and weekly devotions. Robin Carlo is working on virtual Sunday School, and expects to broadcast Facebook Live Sunday School at 9:15 a.m. this Sunday, March 15th.

The Council and I ask that you please keep in touch with each other, and with those who might be in need. We hope to create a phone tree, and you all know that you can call or write me. I will be checking in with you as much as possible by phone or email.

Lent offers us a time to embrace simplicity. This year, that simplicity is imposed upon us by events and circumstances out of our control. We can, however, choose our response. One of my friends wrote that compassion is our seat-belt in troubled times. I agree. In all that we are doing in these days of social distancing, my prayer is we remain interconnected as much as possible. May we remember those who may need assistance. May we know God’s presence in the midst of us.

In Christ,

Pastor Anne Deneen

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Annual Meeting, Annual Report and Constitution

Our Annual Meeting is this Sunday, January 26th immediately following the service. If you wish to see the Annual Report, you can access find it here. If you wish to see the St. Paul Constitution, By-Laws and Continuing Resolutions which we plan to ratify on Sunday, you may see it here.