| A Midweek Message for November 18, 2020 Hello people of St. Paul, I hope this midweek message finds you and your loved ones staying home and staying safe. As you will see in my letter below, today we have made the decision to move to live streaming only for the next 28 days to help stop the spread of Covid-19 (see back for more information) . If you have any questions or concerns about this decision please feel free to reach out to me personally.If you currently do not receive the email with the worship link in it feel free to reach out to Ryan Kennedy at 614-260-1645 or rkennedy.stpaul@gmail.com. In the peace of Jesus Christ,Rev. Aaron Baughman Interim Pastor Worship Livestream ONLY Beginning November 22 Hello people of St. Paul, After chatting with Jeanine earlier today and after consulting with the council, we feel it is best for us to discontinue in person Sunday worship and midweek services at this time due to the increase in Covid-19 cases in Franklin County. Due to this increase in cases on Thursday a statewide curfew will go into effect and on Friday a countywide stay at home order will go into effect, lasting 28 days. Worship will continue but will be live stream only, with no in person worship. This change in worship will begin on Sunday Nov. 22 ( this will include midweek services ) and will last the duration of the 28 day stay at home order for Franklin County. Today, according to the Columbus Dispatch, “City and county officials pleaded with residents to stay at home for the next 28 days. They asked city and county residents to only leave their houses for work, school or other essential needs. They also asked people to stay in their homes after 10 p.m.” Dr. Andrew Thomas with Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center says there has been an 82 percent increase of COVID-19 patients at hospitals during the last two weeks. According to WBNS10 and NBC4, all residents of Columbus and Franklin County are advised to stay home due to the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The advisory urges people to only leave home for work or school, or for essential needs such as medical care, groceries and picking up food. Although we are still allowed to gather for worship, we feel that following the strong suggestion of city and county officials is a way that we can do our part in helping stop the spread of the virus. Of course, we all hope to return to in person worship as soon as possible and we will keep you posted if anything changes. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me personally at revaaronroyle@gmail.com or at 614-746-5119. Stay safe and Stay healthy, Blessing and Peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Rev. Aaron Baughman |
 Thus says the Lord God:I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. – Excerpt from Ezekiel 34  This past week I got a haircut (don’t worry, I didn’t get all of it cut). I went to visit my barber in Westerville who I have visited for years. In fact, this barber is the same barber who was the very first person to cut my hair! For years, she had a picture of me up on a shelf above her chair of my first haircut. Of course, now I have had a few others cut my hair but in the end I always end up returning to her.So I realized after reading this passage from Ezekiel that although I have very little experience as a shepherd and even less experience as a sheep, what I do have in common with them both is that I have a relationship with someone who cuts/shears my hair. Now I know this is different then a shepherd/sheep relationship but maybe it has more in common then we think. In Ezekiel it says that God will search for and seek out God’s sheep, that God will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered. So when has my barber ever searched me out? When has my barber rescued me from the places which I have been scattered?Well my barber has never called me up to check in on me or tried to come and find me but I do keep finding myself returning back to her, but why? For me, what keeps leading me back to her is the relationship that we have, and the trust I have in her as my barber.So perhaps, God doesn’t always track us down or chase after us. Instead, God searches for us and rescues us from being scattered with the relationship God forms with us and the trust we know we have in God. – Rev. Aaron Baughman  This Sunday will be livestream ONLY To be added to the worship link email please contact Ryan Kennedy at 614-260-1645 or rkennedy.stpaul@gmail.com. Hymns for this coming Sunday: ELW 842 “Oh, Worship the King” ELW 855 “Crown Him with Many Crowns”(if you have a hymnal at home, you can mark your hymns ahead of time) This Week’s Prayers OUR CHRISTIAN SYMPATHY IS EXTENDED TO: The Family of Susan Berkemer who went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, November 17th. REMEMBER IN PRAYER: Fred Berkemer, Barbara Bradley, Ruth Hunter, Tillie Walls, Betty Danish, Don Montgomery, Phyllis Jenny, Richard Wiener, and Wes Porter, Sandy (niece of Brenda Curtiss) BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK: Waylon Parker, Carley Sparks, Layne Schlosser, Isabelle Royer, Christinna Murphy,and Hilda Walz Hilda Walz will be turning 103 on November 28! If you would like to send her a card, her address is: Carriage Court. 3570 Heritage Club Dr. #411 Hilliard, OH 43026 |