“[S]uffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Romans 5:3b-5
Dear Christ the King Community,
Over the past year, we have lived the above verses together. As Christ the King, we have persevered and found new ways to remain connected. Whether through worship on the web, drive-in worship, or myriad Zoom meetings, our CtK community has remained as connected as pandemic safety protocol allows. Thank you for persevering and embracing the many changes and challenges over this past year. It has definitely been character-building!
Looking to the future, we write today on behalf of the Church Council to provide you with insight on the Council’s discussions and share our hopeful yet still evolving plans for returning to in-sanctuary worship.
The Council meets twice a month to discuss a variety of issues, not the least of which is the pandemic and when the metrics in our area might align with recommendations for safe reopening. As you may imagine, this is not an easy situation to predict.
The Church Council derives guidance from local health officials, Indiana-Kentucky Synod leadership, and Ecumenical Consultation Protocols for Worship, Fellowship, and Sacramental Practices, of which the ELCA has been a supportive member. While we are encouraged by the increasing availability of vaccines and the number of people who are getting vaccinated, our synod and denomination continue to urge caution. Metrics have been slightly improving in St. Joseph County, but are still worse than when we halted indoor worship in August. Our area currently meets two of the three thresholds the Ecumenical Consultation advises be met before resuming indoor worship — our rate of new cases per day falls short of their benchmark.
Therefore, the Church Council made a cautiously optimistic decision to set a target date to begin offering an in-sanctuary worship option: May 2, 2021. This depends upon county metrics and may be a moving target. But we are hopeful, and we want to share that hope with you.
It is extremely important to remember May 2 is dependent upon metrics in our area aligning with safety recommendations, and worship will not yet be what it was in our pre-COVID world. Safety measures will remain in place: masking, social distancing, no group singing, etc. The Church Council will continue to monitor the situation, deliberate, and provide updates via email and on ctkluth.com following council meetings on March 16 and April 20. Even once indoor worship resumes, the drive-in service will continue to be offered until all ages can safely return to the sanctuary.
This timing, unfortunately, means that we will not meet in-sanctuary for Holy Week. We share your disappointment in yet another Holy Week looking very different from what we have all cherished. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil worship will all be available as worship on the web. Like Christmas Eve, we will have two drive-in worship services on Easter Sunday — one at 8:30 a.m. and one at 10 a.m. Our talented staff is already working to make them festive, celebrative, and memorable!
In the meantime, we’d like to share some wisdom from I-K Synod Bishop Bill Gafkjen, who recently wrote in a letter to congregations,
“It is crucial that we continue to run with perseverance the race that is set before us. Part of our Lenten discipline is to continue being careful, cautious, and patiently committed to the wellbeing of every neighbor. I encourage all of us to heed the advice of medical and public health experts who tell us to continue making the sacrifices necessary to bring this pandemic to an end: wearing our masks, observing distancing, washing our hands, avoiding crowds, getting vaccinated, and the like …
“Perseverance also calls us to be cautious and wise about whether, when, and in what forms to gather together in-person for worship and other practices of Christian community. I share the longing for worshipping in-person together. The thought of the possibility of another Easter celebrated at a distance breaks my heart. Yet, the best way forward may well be to keep on doing what we’ve been doing for the foreseeable future.”
We’re children of God, we’re Lutherans, we persevere. It's what we do. We believe our perseverance will pay off in the coming months and we will be able to gather once again in the sanctuary. That is our hope.
Pastor Caroline Satre Josh Weinhold
Senior Pastor President, Church Council
Dear Christ the King Community,
Over the past year, we have lived the above verses together. As Christ the King, we have persevered and found new ways to remain connected. Whether through worship on the web, drive-in worship, or myriad Zoom meetings, our CtK community has remained as connected as pandemic safety protocol allows. Thank you for persevering and embracing the many changes and challenges over this past year. It has definitely been character-building!
Looking to the future, we write today on behalf of the Church Council to provide you with insight on the Council’s discussions and share our hopeful yet still evolving plans for returning to in-sanctuary worship.
The Council meets twice a month to discuss a variety of issues, not the least of which is the pandemic and when the metrics in our area might align with recommendations for safe reopening. As you may imagine, this is not an easy situation to predict.
The Church Council derives guidance from local health officials, Indiana-Kentucky Synod leadership, and Ecumenical Consultation Protocols for Worship, Fellowship, and Sacramental Practices, of which the ELCA has been a supportive member. While we are encouraged by the increasing availability of vaccines and the number of people who are getting vaccinated, our synod and denomination continue to urge caution. Metrics have been slightly improving in St. Joseph County, but are still worse than when we halted indoor worship in August. Our area currently meets two of the three thresholds the Ecumenical Consultation advises be met before resuming indoor worship — our rate of new cases per day falls short of their benchmark.
Therefore, the Church Council made a cautiously optimistic decision to set a target date to begin offering an in-sanctuary worship option: May 2, 2021. This depends upon county metrics and may be a moving target. But we are hopeful, and we want to share that hope with you.
It is extremely important to remember May 2 is dependent upon metrics in our area aligning with safety recommendations, and worship will not yet be what it was in our pre-COVID world. Safety measures will remain in place: masking, social distancing, no group singing, etc. The Church Council will continue to monitor the situation, deliberate, and provide updates via email and on ctkluth.com following council meetings on March 16 and April 20. Even once indoor worship resumes, the drive-in service will continue to be offered until all ages can safely return to the sanctuary.
This timing, unfortunately, means that we will not meet in-sanctuary for Holy Week. We share your disappointment in yet another Holy Week looking very different from what we have all cherished. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil worship will all be available as worship on the web. Like Christmas Eve, we will have two drive-in worship services on Easter Sunday — one at 8:30 a.m. and one at 10 a.m. Our talented staff is already working to make them festive, celebrative, and memorable!
In the meantime, we’d like to share some wisdom from I-K Synod Bishop Bill Gafkjen, who recently wrote in a letter to congregations,
“It is crucial that we continue to run with perseverance the race that is set before us. Part of our Lenten discipline is to continue being careful, cautious, and patiently committed to the wellbeing of every neighbor. I encourage all of us to heed the advice of medical and public health experts who tell us to continue making the sacrifices necessary to bring this pandemic to an end: wearing our masks, observing distancing, washing our hands, avoiding crowds, getting vaccinated, and the like …
“Perseverance also calls us to be cautious and wise about whether, when, and in what forms to gather together in-person for worship and other practices of Christian community. I share the longing for worshipping in-person together. The thought of the possibility of another Easter celebrated at a distance breaks my heart. Yet, the best way forward may well be to keep on doing what we’ve been doing for the foreseeable future.”
We’re children of God, we’re Lutherans, we persevere. It's what we do. We believe our perseverance will pay off in the coming months and we will be able to gather once again in the sanctuary. That is our hope.
Pastor Caroline Satre Josh Weinhold
Senior Pastor President, Church Council