Dear friends in Christ,

Greetings to you in the Name of the Lord Jesus!

Each day brings new and different news and changes to everyone’s lives and routines as a result of the epidemic we find ourselves in.  Yet, we also take comfort in the truth that we have through faith that our God remains the Changeless One and that He continues to uphold all things in His hands, including each one of us.

There is a lot that needs to be shared with you all, so please bear with us.  To keep this message from being too long, I’m going to try to give basic information and more details will be made available in further messages to follow.

1) In-Person Public Worship:
Because of the latest restrictions by the Governor limiting public gatherings to 50 persons and the CDC recommendations to limit gatherings to 10 people, we believe it best that we suspend public worship at this time.  The Ministry Planning Group (MPG) has decided that worship is suspended until the State of Emergency is lifted.  When that occurs, we will be announcing when we will resume worship services.

2) Video Public Worship and Study:
Pastor has been working hard at learning how to use the technology we have available to provide ways for us to remain connected and in worship together.  We will be using the capabilities of Facebook Live to stream worship, study, and other messages.  This framework will also allow this to be done either from the church building or from Pastor’s home, depending on the need.

With regards to this, here is some information to help you access this video outreach:
a) If you are on Facebook:
Please “like” our church Facebook Page: Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Mount Rainier, MD. This will allow you to be able to “follow” us and receive notifications when we are “live”.  (You can also join our church Facebook Group under the same name; we plan on using both the page and group for announcements, etc.)

b) If you do not use Facebook:
When we plan to “go live” for an event, we’ll send an email out on our announcement list with the event’s date and time and a link to the church’s Facebook Page.  We will also have the link available on our church website–www.tlcmr.org.  Using that link at the “live” time will enable you to view the feed in real time.  It will also allow you to view it later as well.

More information will be coming as Sunday draws closer on how we will be “worshiping electronically”.

3) Holy Communion:
As we are a “sacramental” church, we want to be sure that this time of change doesn’t deprive us of the Lord’s Gift of Himself in the Eucharist.  We will be announcing plans for members to make appointments to meet with the Pastor at church to share in Communion together, or for those who are unable or fearful about coming out to make other arrangements for Pastor to bring Communion.

4) Offerings:
Although it seems as if the world is grinding to a halt, life has a way of showing us that it is still going on, especially as the bills come due.  And just as that is true for us in our personal lives, it is also true for our congregation as well.  We ask that you please continue to remember the needs of our ministry at this time, not only with your prayers, but also with your giving.  You can give your offerings through the mail, sending them to the church office.  You can also bring your offering with you at your future “Communion Appointment” or when Pastor makes a visit.  Our hope is to be able to make a weekly deposit of all gifts that come in by these various means.

5) Other Needs:
Here at Trinity we believe ourselves not to be just a gathering of believers, but also a family who loves, cares, and looks out for one another.  If you are in need of help with different tasks during this time–running errands for shopping or hot meals–please let Pastor or one of the MPG members know so that we can make arrangements to assist you.

6) Staying in touch:
Since we are having to find and use ways to keep informed with each other about our church family, it is important that we have correct and current contact information, especially phone numbers and emails.  (And if you have us using a work email, please consider giving us your personal email to use.)  Please be sure that the church office has that information.  Most of these email notices will also be posted on our Facebook Page and Group, as well as on our website.

7) A final word…
To help make sure that our video system is up and running, I’ll be going live to share a video message with you all.  Please use this link to access it: https://www.facebook.com/trinityelcmountrainier/

God’s blessings and peace be with each of us in this and the coming days.  We’ll be in touch!

In Christ’s Love,
Pastor

Dear friends in Christ,

Today as we gathered in worship, we prayed together the words of Psalm 84:

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

I was personally struck by these words as they passed my lips, reminding myself of the joy we are able to receive when we gather in the Lord’s house to be strengthened by Him, His Word, and His Gifts, and by the consolation and encouragement of fellow believers.  As reminded us all today, we need each other in this time, just as the world reminds us that we need to work together to get through this. But even more than that, we need the Lord, because He will be the One who will help us in this time of need.

It was good to be with those who came to worship today, and we pray that those who were not able to be with us were united with us in spirit as we lifted up our prayers and praises to the Lord. Even in the midst of these changing and uncertain moments, we have all found ways to be united with God and with each other either physically or spiritually.

After worship, we were able to have conversation with one another about our feelings and perspectives on the current situation and its impact on what we do together as a Trinity family, especially in regard to worship.  Taking in all of the comments, the Ministry Planning Group (MPG) met together to make further decisions about the coming days.

1) We will continue to hold our gatherings for Worship on Sundays mornings and for Bible Study on Wednesday evenings.

Again, following the current instructions of the Governor, we feel that our Parish Family is able to continue to meet because we are under the threshold of 250 people for holding public gatherings. We will continue to follow the news and updates from the government if any of their instructions might change and require us to adapt our plans.

2) We will continue the precautions that we have begun with parts of our worship: Suspending the Sharing of the Peace, collecting the offering “at the door”, use of individual wafers and cups for Communion, and use of hand sanitizer by Pastor and worship assistants and members.

In addition to these things, I know that many of us are individually practicing, as best we can, certain protocols of “social distancing” to protect ourselves and one another from this virus. Please continue to do so.

3) We will continue to use the gifts God has given to us in wisdom, discretion, and common sense as we are guided by the Lord to follow more faith than fear.

With this in mind, we want to stress two points that are very important at this time:

a) As in any family, if you are sick or have any of the symptoms that have been put forward as manifest of the current virus, we are sure that for your good and for others that you will refrain from going out, even for worship.  This is especially important as our society tries to get a handle on controlling the spread of the virus and reducing the number of new cases.

b) If you are in any way worried or concerned about going out because of fear of contracting or perhaps unknowingly spreading illness, also be at peace and know that your concern for others is part of looking out for the spiritual welfare of both yourself and others.

In either case, we will be in prayer for one another that the Lord will bring us and the world safely through this moment and allow us in peace and with joy to return to His house to worship together freed from the fear of this epidemic.

4) Because of this current situation, it should also be said that Pastor may not be able to make certain visits during this time, especially to nursing centers and homes and to some extent even hospitals, except in emergency situations.  It is important then to be sure to let Pastor know of any emergency spiritual needs as soon as possible.  His personal cell phone number can be found at the bottom of this message.

As to other pastoral calls, please contact Pastor to make arrangements.  We’ll do our best to make such visits possible based upon everyone’s comfort and health status.

5) And lastly, please be sure to continue to check your email or our Facebook Group (Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Mount Rainier, MD) for more news and updates as this continues to be a rather fluid situation.  Please also feel free to pass this information along to those who may not receive these email communications.

As always, please feel free to contact either Pastor or one of the members of the MPG with any of your thoughts, questions, or concerns.  We will get through this together, but more importantly, we will get through this with the Lord and His help. God grant us all His mercy, His wisdom, and an abundance of His peace and love!

In Christ Jesus,
+Pastor

From Pastor Schiebel:
As Christians, we owe our loyalty to both Christ and His Church as well as to our own country and its government.  We understand that government is indeed a gift of God to us, and that we are commanded to honor it and the leaders whom we have elected to govern and serve our nation (see the Fourth Commandment and the Table of Duties: Of Civil Government & Of Citizens in Luther’s Small Catechism).

Our nation’s Constitution in its First Amendment states that: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.  This first statement in the Bill of Rights grants religious liberty to every citizen to practice their faith, whatever it might be, according to the dictates of their conscience.  The Government is not an arbiter of faith, and the Church is not a ruler within the civil realm.  As Lutherans, we know this as “The Two Kingdoms”–that God rules over us both through the Church and the authorities that have been placed over us.  We would agree with the constitutional idea of “Separation of Church and State” as being an expression of this “Two Kingdom” theology.

That being said, there are times when Christians, with consciences formed and shaped by God’s Word, cannot in good conscience agree or accept as right that which our government asks of us or what government may deem to be permissible.  Within this free society in which we live, we all, as Christians and as people of faith and of no faith, have the right to voice our opinions and to exercise our privileges and rights in the hopes that we may see laws change.  People of faith do this not seeking to impose our faith upon others or to in some way create a sort of theocracy.  Rather, we work towards gaining freedom–freedom already guaranteed to us that we may be people who are able both to be faithful to our God and His Word and to be loyal citizens of our land.

In our country, we understand that there is a good and proper separation of Church and State.  We understand that there is no “religious test” to hold public office.  We understand that we live in a pluralistic society in which there is to be no preference given to any one group over another.  Yet, this does not mean that as citizens we are then asked to check our beliefs and our consciences informed by those beliefs outside of either public discussion and discourse or even before we step into a voting booth.  People of faith and of no faith have informed consciences shaped by what they believe, and they will use those consciences in expressing themselves through the opinions they hold dear as true.  As citizens, we are guaranteed the right to hold and to express these opinions in words and also in our deeds, including our right to vote.

Our Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod takes no official view upon governmental policy.  Yet, our very existence in this country is because our founders came from their homes in Germany to this land in order to be able to exercise their faith freely and without governmental hindrance, and to do so in both word and in deeds.  We therefore stand in the belief of and seek the right for Religious Liberty, not only for ourselves but also for every citizen of our land.  We also realize that the membership of our Synod’s congregations is diverse–reflecting any number of differing political loyalties and outlooks on laws and policies.  We respect the rights we all have to share the views that each person holds as true.  We also ask for the same respect to be able to express our own views from our consciences informed by our faith.

Martin Luther stood before the Diet of Worms in 1521, asked by the leaders of the government of his day to recant his writings and teaching.  He refused, declaring that his “conscience is captive to the Word of God”.  As Christians in our own day, we have the right to say the same, and to let God’s Word and our faith allow us to make informed decisions, living both as citizens and as Christians.  We are indeed a free people in this land, and as Christians in this land we are also “Free to be Faithful”–as people who are able to be “true to our God, true to our native land” (LSB Hymn # 964, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, stanza 3).

Our Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and Lutheran Hour Ministries have both prepared websites which may be of use to you in helping to understand some of the issues facing our nation, especially the issue of religious freedom and liberty.  Feel free to look at these sites and their resources to help inform you of what we as Lutheran Christians believe, teach, and confess, and to see how our faith speaks to the issues we face.

From the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod:
Religious Liberty: Free to be Faithful
The LCMS launched an education and awareness campaign called “Religious Liberty: Free to Be Faithful” in September 2012 in response to increasing intrusions by government into the realm of the church. The campaign’s main goal is to inspire LCMS rostered members and laity to take informed action to protect the freedom of religion.

From Lutheran Hour Ministries:
The Intersection of Church and State
Religious freedom in America has been an issue of paramount importance since the beginning of this great nation. As the nation has grown and changed, so has the relationship of the federal government and the many religions that comprise the community of faith throughout the land. Questions of the relationship between Church and State have never been more relevant than they are today!

Equipped with this information, please exercise the rights you have as a citizen and vote according to the dictates of your own conscience.  But above all, no matter how you vote or no matter of the political position you may side with, be a faithful Christian who daily prays to God that we may live in this land and have leaders who will allow all of us in our nation to “live peaceful lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:3).  God grant it.  Amen!