April 24 COVID-19 update (Click to download .pdf file)
April 24 COVID-19 update
Dear Cup church family and friends,
Following our latest Session meeting this week, we wanted to share the latest decisions that we’ve made regarding our worship life together.
First, we will continue our online worship offering until further notice. Governor Wolf’s stay-at-home order has been extended until May 8, but the step of encouraging worship gatherings (or gatherings of any sort in a group larger than 10) is unlikely to occur until some time after that. Personally, I would love to see us celebrate Pentecost together on May 31, but we will have to see how our current social-distancing efforts have worked in keeping infection numbers down. Please join us for our services at cupepc.org, and look for the short devotionals posted several times each week by Pastor Scott on Facebook and the church web page.
We have made the decision to continue to wait on serving communion until we can do so together. While the denomination has given permission to serve communion through ‘virtual’ services online, we have decided that while our desire to share the sacrament together is high, we’ve not waited such a long period of time that we have lost the effect of sharing in the Lord’s presence with us in this way. I’m attaching a link here (https://bellefield.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Communion-teaching-guide-EPC-version.pdf) to a good resource on our understanding of the Lord’s supper from a Reformed perspective. Bellefield EPC is close to the University of Pittsburgh campus.
Please let us know of your prayer requests and other needs. This is a challenging and uncertain time for all of us, but particularly so for those facing significant health challenges, the loss of work – or the level of work brought up to exhausting levels due to emergency needs. Please know that Cup church loves you and wants to pray for you, as well as provide for practical needs as we are able. Please leave a message at the church office (724-843-1594) or send an email to scott@cupepc.org or office@cupepc.org.
“The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:7) May the Lord bless and keep each of you until we are together again!
Blessings,
Pastor Scott