LifePoint Family and Friends,
Maybe you heard the most recent announcement from the Baltimore County Executive clearing churches to meet under some specific guidelines. This means we’re inching closer to whatever our new normal might look like. At this point, though, we do not have a specific date that we will be reopening the building for in-person services.
In a recent survey of our church family, about half of those of you who responded so far said you would attend a live service, some of you stating you would do so reluctantly. Whatever we do will clearly have to be a phased-in approach to meeting on our church campus. We’ll continue to weigh the pros and cons of returning to live services in the immediate future. And we’ll be looking at both the practical consequences as well as the benefits of filling a room full of masked people!
As you’re comfortable, I would encourage you to get together with other Christ-followers. If you’re in a small group, you might want to start there. The restrictions on large group gatherings are stringent enough to drastically affect our sense of community, closeness and even singing together (since research shows that’s an easy way to spread the virus).
As always, I’m committed to keeping you up-to-date on the decisions we make about a phased-in approach to returning to live church. In the meantime, our online services are allowing us the experience of being the church and “going to church,” just in a different way. We hope you’ll join us online this Sunday at 9:30 as I wrap up our current series on Family.
As we’re fixated on being the church in a new way, let’s not forget that the world needs Jesus more than ever. The events in Minneapolis just a few days ago remind us that the world is broken. Racial division and police brutality are not just problems of the 1960s. Our world is still seeded with systemic injustice. I believe that breaks the heart of God. With Jesus living through our LifePoint family, my hope is that we will be light in a world of darkness and despair—a beacon of hope for all people.
Thank you for your continued faithfulness in loving Jesus and sharing your finances. We’re finding lots of ways to spread your generosity around to others in our community and our partners throughout the world.
I’m proud of you and grateful for you!
Joe Duke
Sr. Pastor
