The following letter was sent to the BWM from Melissa Mericle on behalf of the LMC Joint Board.
First, we want to sincerely thank the Board of World Missions for the $200 grant that we received in April 2020. When COVID-19 shut us down, we had no idea that it would be such a long time before we were able to worship in person again. Several members got together and worked to find ways to keep us all connected and this grant helped us fulfill that purpose.
We used the $200 to purchase a Zoom license and to help pay for our One Call Now communication system.
We used the Zoom account many times over this past year. Here are some examples of what we were capable of doing because of it:
– During Holy Week 2020, members met with our Pastor John Rainey via Zoom to record the Holy Week readings and we were able to post them to Facebook each evening of Holy Week.
– We held a Virtual Potluck meal where members shared a meal via Zoom. We also shared stories of past potlucks and favorite recipes.
– Our Women’s Fellowship held virtual meetings and continued to conduct business all year. They were even able to conduct a Moravian Goodie Sale so that members were able to order their favorite Moravian cookies, sugarcake, and Moravian stars.
– The Joint Board and the Board of Elders held virtual meetings throughout the year. This enabled them to conduct church business safely without putting any of our Board members at risk. During these meetings, they formulated a plan on how to safely reopen the church. This made it possible for the church to reopen as soon as our county statistics allowed.
Our church reopened on March 28th, Palm Sunday. We had a good turnout, but there were members missing because of health and safety concerns. We are committed to providing services to them virtually. We are also considering continuing to provide virtual streaming services even after safety is no longer a concern.
We are currently streaming our services on Facebook using a member’s webcam, but we are struggling with the sound. We would like to purchase a microphone booster to improve the sound quality.
Our Joint Boards have also seen the value in continuing to use Zoom even when we can meet in person again. This would allow our Joint Board members to meet even when members are out of town or unavailable for other reasons to meet in person.
“To teach the Word of God. To experience the salvation of Jesus Christ. To offer Christian fellowship, and provide opportunities to serve others.”
