Dear OPCC Friends and Family:
 
Most of us have been paying attention to the news as information about COVID-19 changes hour-to hour. This virus is aggressive. Our government leaders’ strong encouragement to social distancing/isolation feels extreme.
 
As people of faith… those words also describe our hope.  Our aggressive hope is that this virus will be halted.  We hold onto the strong hope that our sense of community with one another will be maintained, and restored.  We trust in the extreme hope that God has not left us to fend off this virus alone. 
 
Much of humanity has become focused inward: stockpiling supplies, making lists of all of the tv-shows we want to watch and books we want to read, making schedules for our kids so they don’t fall behind in their schoolwork, and focusing on how this virus is affecting us, as individuals. There is no shame in demonstrating concern for yourself and your family.
 
But this virus is affecting us as a global community.  In the waters of baptism, we are claimed as children of God, as part of God’s whole family, which means we don’t live in this world separate from one another.
 
As we adjust our schedules in our ways, let’s also adjust our new schedules and join together in some time of deepening our faith and listening to how God is calling us to love and serve our neighbor.
 
For the foreseeable future our OPCC Board and Leadership has agreed to suspend our in-person communal gatherings, following the Executive Order of the KS Governor, and recommendation of the CDC. But we shall not despair, because for these coming weeks we will remain in contact, we will connect, and we will pause in the peace of God’s presence.
 
In the packet at the bottom of this blog you will find several things to guide you through these coming weeks:

• Everyone, regardless of age or family/household make-up are encouraged to use the Faith5 model (instructions provided) for connecting each day.
• There are devotional readings & activities prepared for the next 8 weeks for you to do with those in your home. 
  • If you live alone, we strongly encourage you to call a friend, call another church member, call someone; journal on your own, and/or with one another.
  • The readings, activities, and webpages for the activities are grouped by week on the subsequent pages.
• Follow us on our website and our Facebook page.
  • You DO NOT have to have a Facebook page in order to follow along, though in this time you may choose to explore this way of connecting with one another!
• Join us for these two different worship experiences on Sundays!
  • Join us on Facebook at 10:30am. Follow the link and the video will start at 10:30
  • Join us for a worship/meditation phone call at 2:00pm each Sunday.
    • Call   1-888-788-0099    OR    1-877-853-5247   (both numbers work, & both are toll-free)
    • When you call it will ask for the meeting ID, followed by the pound (#) sign.  
    • Meeting ID: 946 644 723 (The spaces in between numbers are only provided for ease of seeing, you can just type the numbers one after the other)
    • If it asks you to enter a participant ID followed by the # - just press #.  There is no participant ID, so just press # when listening to the prompts and it will put you into this phone worship experience.
• Join us on Wednesdays in Lent at 6:30pm on Facebook for a continuation of our Bread & Broth Series.
• Start some soup and join us from your dining room to continue The Faces of Jesus.

Above all, let us remember that we are not a people of fear, rather a people of hope! We find hope in connecting with one another no matter how we do it.  Leaders from OPCC will soon be in touch about Covenant Groups, the church office phone will still be answered during regular business hours, you can still email your staff and always touch base on our website.

Click Here to Access the Pandemic Hope Devotional
​
If you would like a physical copy of this devotional mailed to you, please email Michelle.
 
God’s blessings and God’s peace until we meet in-person again.

Sincerely,
Rev. Laura Ann Phillips, 
and The Leadership of Overland Park Christian Church

OPCC Friends and Family:
 
Out of an abundance of caution regarding the rapid spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus), and the awareness of the average age and risk of our particular community, the OPCC Board and leadership has made the decision in a meeting last night, to suspend in-person church activities, including worship, for this week.  Beginning Sunday, March 15, 2020, we will not host any in-person gatherings at church this week. The worship schedule will be decided week by week by our board and leadership.
Regardless, we do hope to see you online!

• Check out our Live-Stream worship on our Facebook Page (past services too!)
• Keep checking out the OPCC website for more up to date information and devotions!

 
We cannot reiterate this clearly enough, there is NO reason to panic. This temporary change in how we worship God is no reason to panic, because it’s one of the most Christian things we can do as an act of social solidarity for all of God’s children. We will sacrifice a bit of “normalcy” in our lives so that we can protect the most vulnerable among us and give our medical community the opportunity to care for those who need it.
 
Every year we experience a brief time in which we suspend our visitation to, and leadership of, Garden Terrace worship for similar reasons. A couple times a year, Garden Terrace will ask us to suspend that worship experience because of illness, and this is no different. In each situation, worship and church returns to normal shortly thereafter.
 
Hearing the advice of the CDC, and our local health department, the leadership of our denomination, and some of the health professionals in our own church, we are adjusting so that we can maintain safe boundaries for our own members.  We are also concerned about how we continue as church for the community at large. To these ends, please read about each of these updates!
 
WORSHIP & IN-PERSON GATHERINGS

• We will transition in-person Sunday worship to entirely online beginning March 15, 2020.
  • We are currently livestreaming to Facebook, but are also looking at other options. Check out our website for the most up to date information.
  • The website will also provide devotional material for those unable to use the livestream.
• In-person visitation to nursing facilities and homebound will pause temporarily until those facilities deem it safe and appropriate.
  • We will still make phone calls and send cards as best we are able!
• In-person Christian Education, OPCC Musical Groups, Youth Group and other fellowship groups like Empty Nesters, Caregivers, etc. will also take a short break from in-person gatherings. Each of these groups will also communicate with their individual members. 
• Covenant Groups are being formed! These will allow elders and/or deacons to check-in on each and every one of our members in this temporary season.  

• If you are not contacted about a Covenant Group by March 21, please contact the church office, by email or phone.
• Your OPCC Board, and leaders from the OPCC Elders and Deacons have agreed to weekly conference calls to check-in about what’s next, as it changes each day, week, or even hour.  Each leader is dedicated to prayerful discernment about how we “be church” in this wilderness season. 

SERVICE
Our identity as OPCC is rooted in our “serving with heart” our community, those on the margins, and the vulnerable.

• We are doing our best to make sure that we can still serve our OPCC Food Pantry and Interfaith Hospitality Network clients, even if it is in very different ways.  The most vulnerable of our community are going to be hit the hardest during this season of COVID-19, and we hope to keep serving them the best we can, while keep our community safe.
  • If you are able bodied, healthy, and not in a high-risk group, please consider volunteering as these updates come out. They will be shared later as we hear more from Harvesters and Johnson County IHN.
  • Contact Jane F. about the Food Pantry 
  • Contact Barb C. about Interfaith Hospitality Network.
  • Contact the church office if you need their email.s

• We are also hoping to keep our building open for weekly meeting users (like AA) whose social isolation could be equally as detrimental to their mental health. We’ve provided extra cleaning supplies for them to use, and asked them to consider alternative options if they have them.
• We have been instructed to temporarily halt our Garden Terrace worship service, until Garden Terrace deems it safe again. We will proceed at their direction
• We have postponed the youth rummage sale fundraiser. More info will be shared at a later date, once we know more. For right now, keep your donations at home if you can – find more while you’re spending some time at home :) – we would love them in the future!

 
GIVING TO THE CHURCH

• The first months of the year are always a tight time for the church, financially, due to lower attendance caused by winter weather, flu season, and more.  Though we normally anticipate this, it will be exacerbated by COVID-19.  Please remember that even when folks are unable to be present at church functions or worship, the ministries of the church continue on.  
• Please consider setting up electronic payment of some kind from your account to the church account. You can set up an auto-debit plan with your banking institution or use our secure online giving system so you can give more consistently without bringing it each week/month. Online giving is also great for individual donations if you aren’t ready to put a weekly or monthly plan into place.  We can also receive checks through the mail if that is your preference.
  • If you have any questions about online giving or EFT transfers through your bank, contact Michelle (by email or or ext: 223) in the church office and we’ll be happy to guide you through the process!  

 
It is actually quite Biblical to take a break: sabbath, sabbatical, year of jubilee, on the seventh day God rested. 
 
It is Biblical to cease travel, cease buying and selling, and to stay at home singing and praying. When our bodies become still, we are more able to reach out with our hearts. When we take time to pause and consider God’s world, we can see just how much we are connected in terrifying and beautiful ways.  “Being church” continues because we take time to pause and listen to the Spirit of God. This is such an opportunity, and we give thanks for God’s presence as we reach out with our hearts, our words, and all the tendrils of compassion in our world. 
 
Sincerely,
Rev. Laura Ann Phillips, 
and The Leadership of Overland Park Christian Church

Dear Friends in Christ,
 
As we continue through our Lenten wilderness theme, I keep thinking: I wish the wilderness were easy. I wish it was always safe and comfortable and calm. I wish like Nicodemus, that it did not leave us with more questions than when we started.
 
In this 2020 season of Lenten Wilderness – with a global pandemic – in this disorienting season of Lent, we are called to show up for one another. When the world devolves into fear and division, we remember that this wilderness is never meant to be survived alone. 
 
To that end, our OPCC Board of Directors has been discerning how we, as a local congregation, will respond to the concerns of this global COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, and how we continue to be a light in our community.  We have an opportunity to respond in calm and informed ways and to practice loving kindness by taking this situation seriously, and by choosing to take measures that will help the vulnerable among us – something we learn from Christ himself. The prayerful, thoughtful, and realistic plans are included in this communication, so please take time to read this in its entirety.
 
In this plan, we have taken into account health news from the Centers for Disease Control, as well as pastoral and congregational recommendations from denominational leaders, local and state health officials, and trusted colleagues across the community.  As a place where we celebrate an open table, we want to be sure that all feel safe, and that we invest in one another’s health and well-being.  In that Spirit, we share the following precautions:
 
EDUCATION & CAUTION
We do NOT want to contribute to panic or anxiety, because neither is warranted. Nor do we want to contribute to any racist tropes that have accompanied the spread of this virus. The risk of contracting the disease remains extremely low, and many who contract COVID-19 most often experiences mild symptoms. Though it is tempting to rely on social media outlets for the most-up-to date information, be aware that misinformation is frequently shared through these same outlets. In other words, do the research with accredited professional organizations utilizing evidence-based science.

At the same time, we do NOT want to dismiss this situation as “overblown” or unworthy of preparation. The risk of severe cases is much higher for certain groups of people, including many of our own, all of whom are beloved children of God. Therefore, we will take a variety of precautions to help keep our entire community healthy, and served, to the best of our ability.

• As always, our cleaning service sanitizes surfaces throughout the building as they clean. 
  • Please also contribute to this cleaning each and every time that you use space in our building. We are doing our best to provide the necessary cleaning products so that you can.
  • Regularly disinfect surfaces that are frequently touched, like doorknobs and your cell phone.
• We have hand sanitizer available at the entrance to the sanctuary and in the Fireside Room. We are buying more as we can.
• On the occasions we still have worship, we will be instituting a different communion and offering protocol until novel coronavirus/COVID-19 is no longer a significant public health issue. We may also eventually have to worship differently. Please be patient, and have grace with these changes.

 
COMMON SENSE

• If you are sick, please do not come to church. This is for your health and an ethical consideration for those in the community who are most vulnerable.
  • If you have a pastoral need, please let one of your elders or Rev. Laura know.
• If you have a condition that compromises your immune system, or are in a high-risk group, please follow the advice and instruction of your physician, and the CDC, including not coming to church.
  • Likewise, if you have a pastoral need, please let one of the elders or Rev. Laura know.
• Avoid touching your face, especially your mouth, nose, and eyes. If you do touch your face, wash your hands or use hand sanitizer immediately afterward.
• Please observe “Coughing Etiquette,” by coughing into your inside elbow, not your hand.
• Wherever you are, please wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. (Try saying the Lord’s Prayer while you wash your hands to help ensure you’ve adequately washed, andpray while you’re at it. #washandpray)
• Practice social distancing, avoid hand-shakes, hugs, and touching. Sit and stand a little further apart than feels natural. Check-in on one another by phone, text, or card, and pray for our communities.

 
SERVICE
Our identity as OPCC is rooted in our service to the community, those on the margins, and the vulnerable.

• We are doing our best to make sure that we can still serve our OPCC Food Pantry and Interfaith Hospitality Network clients, even if it is in very different ways. 
• We are also hoping to keep our building open for community building/weekly meeting users whose social isolation could be equally as detrimental to their mental health. 
• We have been instructed to temporarily halt our Garden Terrace worship service, until Garden Terrace deems it safe again. We will proceed at their direction
• We have postponed the youth rummage sale fundraiser. More info will be shared at a later date, once we know more. For right now, keep your things at home if you can – we would love them in the future!
• Part of the way that we can continue in this service is by the financial support we receive from our community. Please consider giving to OPCC online or directly through your bank by electronic check, so that we can continue these important ministries without disruption.

 
There is currently much that we don’t know about novel coronavirus and the disease COVID-19, but we do know that one of the things we are called to be as a church, is a sanctuary in a storm. It is our hope that this information and these precautions are helpful for you to maintain a non-anxious presence in the ministries we share together. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me via cell phone or by email.
 
What I do know with great certainty? Each wilderness journey is temporary. It does not last forever. When we have the courage to stick it out, to keep walking, to lean into discomfort, to keep trusting that the Spirit is the one who helps us find our way, then we do leave the wilderness different than how we entered it. We learn that the wilderness makes us more holy and more human, and it shapes us into who we’re called to be.
 
Sincerely,
Rev. Laura Ann Phillips, 
and The Leadership of Overland Park Christian Church