FROM: THE SESSION
TO: THE MEMBERS OF REDDING REFORMED FELLOWSHIP
DATE: APRIL 1, 2020
“We believe that each of us would say that we always look forward to Sundays; to meeting together and worshiping our Lord. It was a difficult decision to cancel our meetings and especially our Lord’s Day worship. We miss being together as a congregation and are sure that you do, too.
We don’t know how long we will be in this difficult and disturbing situation. Hopefully, it won’t last too long. Pray that is the case, pray for our congregation, pray for Pastor Gene and the elders, pray for our nation, that the measures we are taking will lessen the effects of the coronavirus.
One of the ways that situations like this can throw us “off our game” is in the subject of giving. We realize that the financial effects of this current crisis is hitting all of us in different ways: Some of you have been laid off, others told to stay home from work, and we have a few people who are self-employed, and all of us are facing difficult financial times. We certainly understand this, we are all going through these times together, and we trust that the Lord will provide, in this way as in every other.
In the midst of this, we need to also remember Christ’s church. Even when we are not meeting together, almost all of the church’s bills continue unabated, so we would encourage you to not neglect the worship you give to the Lord through the giving of your tithes and offerings. It was to a financially struggling congregation in Corinth that Paul wrote "On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.” (1 Corinthians 16:2).
We encourage each of you to continue the practice of setting something aside for the work of the church, perhaps literally in the current situation. Tithes/offerings can be mailed to the churches PO Box. We are also looking into the possibility of making online giving available.
Even as we remind you of this aspect of church life, we want to recognize the financial struggles some of you may be experiencing. If you have a need that you are not able to meet on your own, please contact Pastor Gene or Elder Jim so that we can see how the church may be able to help meet the need. In the early church, "There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.” (Acts 4:34-35).
By God’s grace, we won’t be in the position of having to sell homes to meet needs, but it is a reminder that the church makes provision for those in true need. And we want you to know that we take that as seriously as we desire you to take your own giving to the church. We have been keeping touch by phone, text, or email with each of you to keep the “fellowship” in Redding Reformed Fellowship going as well as we can, and to see if there are any needs that we need to help you meet.
We look forward to the time when we will worship together, again face to face. Each of you is precious in our sight, and, most importantly, precious in the sight of our great God, and we pray with the old hymn, “God be with us ’till we meet again.”
TO: THE MEMBERS OF REDDING REFORMED FELLOWSHIP
DATE: APRIL 1, 2020
“We believe that each of us would say that we always look forward to Sundays; to meeting together and worshiping our Lord. It was a difficult decision to cancel our meetings and especially our Lord’s Day worship. We miss being together as a congregation and are sure that you do, too.
We don’t know how long we will be in this difficult and disturbing situation. Hopefully, it won’t last too long. Pray that is the case, pray for our congregation, pray for Pastor Gene and the elders, pray for our nation, that the measures we are taking will lessen the effects of the coronavirus.
One of the ways that situations like this can throw us “off our game” is in the subject of giving. We realize that the financial effects of this current crisis is hitting all of us in different ways: Some of you have been laid off, others told to stay home from work, and we have a few people who are self-employed, and all of us are facing difficult financial times. We certainly understand this, we are all going through these times together, and we trust that the Lord will provide, in this way as in every other.
In the midst of this, we need to also remember Christ’s church. Even when we are not meeting together, almost all of the church’s bills continue unabated, so we would encourage you to not neglect the worship you give to the Lord through the giving of your tithes and offerings. It was to a financially struggling congregation in Corinth that Paul wrote "On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.” (1 Corinthians 16:2).
We encourage each of you to continue the practice of setting something aside for the work of the church, perhaps literally in the current situation. Tithes/offerings can be mailed to the churches PO Box. We are also looking into the possibility of making online giving available.
Even as we remind you of this aspect of church life, we want to recognize the financial struggles some of you may be experiencing. If you have a need that you are not able to meet on your own, please contact Pastor Gene or Elder Jim so that we can see how the church may be able to help meet the need. In the early church, "There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.” (Acts 4:34-35).
By God’s grace, we won’t be in the position of having to sell homes to meet needs, but it is a reminder that the church makes provision for those in true need. And we want you to know that we take that as seriously as we desire you to take your own giving to the church. We have been keeping touch by phone, text, or email with each of you to keep the “fellowship” in Redding Reformed Fellowship going as well as we can, and to see if there are any needs that we need to help you meet.
We look forward to the time when we will worship together, again face to face. Each of you is precious in our sight, and, most importantly, precious in the sight of our great God, and we pray with the old hymn, “God be with us ’till we meet again.”