Dear members and friends,
During a particularly difficult time in my life, a close friend of mine reminded me of the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel. She said, “you have to hold on John, don’t run away from the struggle. If you hold on, like Jacob did, there will come a blessing from all the struggle”. In the story from Genesis, Jacob held on until dawn and indeed, he received a blessing and a new name, Israel, which means one who has struggled with God and has prevailed.
THE STRUGGLE IS REAL, the T-shirt says. And, we are in this struggle together as individuals, a congregation, a community, a nation…and given the pandemic, all of humanity. We must hold on to one another and to God through this struggle!
Corona Virus: Although the stay at home order has been lifted, most of our congregation are still at risk. There has been very little directions for safely gathering for worship from the Governor’s Office. There is no date that we have in mind for gathering again for public worship, stay in touch!
Racism is Real: Session gathered on an emergency basis to consider publicly professing our concern for addressing systemic racism and personal racism in our society. We discussed putting “black lives matter” on our church lawn sign, but opted to use a biblical quote from Micah 6:8
Do Justice Love Kindness Walk Humbly
And we discussed gathering on the church lawn as a public witness to our concerns about racism in and around us, but because of the Virus Crisis, we are still investigating how to do something meaningfully and yet safely.
Personal Struggles: Many of us are hurting and struggling after nearly 70 days of staying in place but we have a list of particular concerns, including:
Betty Dillon Breeden, still being tested for Cancer diagnosis
Beverly Booz who lost her 24 year old daughter Sarah last week
Beth Welsh undergoing treatment for Breast Cancer
Please pray for the list of concerns for first responders enclosed
In Brigantine, life is opening up again as stores, markets, restaurants and other commercial establishments get ready to be open for the summer, albeit under some specific safety guidelines. The Brigantine City Council did indeed vote to allow short term rentals for the summer so don’t be surprised to see many visitors coming to the shore! The Governors’ guidelines have also indicated that outside activities are much safer (from COVID 19) than inside gatherings so we can expect the beaches to be busy.
SUMMERFEST HAS BEEN CANCELLED! But we are still going to do a basket auction thanks to Sue Clark, Chris Connelly, Karen Mayer and Gina Herz. They have asked for donations of GIFT CARDS FROM LOCAL EATERIES or STORES to put into the baskets. Please consider supporting our local vendors and businesses while helping the church at the same time!
Join us live on Sunday Mornings at 10 for singing, 10:15 for worship.
Use this link www.facebook.com/brigchurch.org.
You don’t have to be on Facebook to join the worship.
If you need a hymnal to have at home, call 266-7942 for a delivery!
Debbie Enderlin, Sue Clark, Gina Herz, Chris Connelly and of course, Brenda and Liboria keep the True Spirit Coalition Pantry open and busy! Families get 5 to 7 bags of all kinds of groceries as they pull up to the pantry windows on Wednesday mornings. The Brigantine Community School has been feeding folks a lot too!
What can you do to help? Refer families and individuals who are stretched by these tough times. Tell them to call the church office and talk to Brenda about getting on the list for the Pantry. 609-266-7942
The CHURCH WEBSITE IS www.brigchurch.org Check it for updates, announcements and info. Don’t forget, you can reach me at brigchurch@aol.com or on my email at jrscotland@aol.com My cell phone is 609-457-2999… feel free to call or text. If you are a Fb member find us at “Brigantine Community Presbyterian Church” “like” us!
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