January 2021
Council Corner
There was not really all that much to discuss at our recent council gathering. We welcomed Pastor Birk to our church for his first official monthly meeting with the council members. This represented the first time in almost sixteen months that we held a meeting with a pastor presiding.
The main point of discussion centered around the planning of our Christmas services. COVID-19 has disrupted almost all aspects of our regular lives. This even includes the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
With this in mind, council members put on our thinking caps. We had to devise a service that met the realities of our modern world. Subsequently, two main ideas surfaced during our discussion. Both of them centered around the use of technology.
The first idea focused upon the use of what some would consider old technology--the radio. With equipment borrowed from Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Virginia, we crafted Hope Lutheran’s first-ever radio Christmas service. It involves the broadcasting of our service on a low-frequency FM radio channel. The exact channel would be posted on a large sign at the entrance to the church. Parishioners would stay in the warmth of their cars and listen to the service while Pastor Birk, lesson readers, ushers, and our music people would stay inside the church to perform their various duties. The ushers would leave the church to deliver Communion individually to each car. Offerings would be dropped off at a common collection point near the entrance of the church. Those attending would never have to leave their vehicles.
The other option devised by the council was a parking lot service. This would only be used is if the radio service was not workable. It would work much the same as the radio service. The readers, ushers, music people, and Pastor Birk would perform the same duties. Communion would be still be done outside on a car-to-car basis, and the offering would be collected at a central location where congregation members would not have to leave their cars. However, instead of using a low-frequency FM radio channel, members conducting the service would speak through a microphone with their words amplified through the use of speakers placed either in the windows of the church or outside the church. No matter the method utilized, it will truly be a very unique Christmas service.
As this year draws to an end, I urge congregation members to continue praying for our church, the world, and all those in need no matter where they are. 2020 has presented us with many challenges that the world has never previously seen. We are living lives that no one thought possible merely one year ago. Despite the adversity, our church and the world will get through this together. Keep your faith and look to the Lord Jesus Christ. We will emerge stronger as a result.
May God grant you peace until we meet again next month…….
In God’s Name,
Lance Kupka
Council President
Hope Lutheran Church of Embarrass