It’s a holiday weekend in the UK and USA. On Monday, many businesses are closed. Yes, there are secular reasons for the holiday that you might observe. For many clergy and lay leaders, you have been going the extra mile for the last several months. We pray that you can find some breath of fresh air to revive your spirit. Thank you for all of the incredible ministry you are doing!
Metropolitan Community Church is thrilled to share this opportunity with you of some much-needed LGBTQ+ entertainment with a FREE 1 month Revry Premium subscription with the most unapolegtically queer movies, shows, news, originals and the largest libraries of queer music and podcasts.
MCC is proud to partner with Revry who is supporting us by splitting all subscription fees (after your free month) throughout the rest of the year. Revry will also give MCC some free promotion in the coming months. Click here https://revry.tv/ and be sure to use MCC’s Code C111.
Read more about Revry http://www.edgeonthenet.com/entertainment/television/292224/revry_launches_first_lgbtq+_cable_tv_platform_for_pride
MONDAY, May 25
Holiday for UK and USA
Most UK & USA MCC staff will be off today.
TUESDAY, May 26
STILL TUESDAYS
9pm GMT / 5pm EDT
Join the Community Development Team for virtual tea, coffee, and conversation for another month! We will have some special guests join us this month too, so look out for more information.
Weekly, this will be a time of building hope, cultivating joy, connecting with one another, and with God. Led by Rev. Elder Hector Gutierrez and Revs. Cathy Alexander, Lauren Bennett & Wanda Floyd, and, our newest team member, Rebecca Wilson!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/248584328
Meeting ID: 248 584 328
“Preparing Yourself and Your Environment to Get the Most From Online Worship” – May 26
15pm Pacific / 6pm Mountain / 7pm Central / 8pm Eastern
Sanctuary’s Zoom Room: www.SanctuaryOnline.live
Many of us are now “attending church” in our Living Rooms or at our Kitchen Tables! If that is you and you’d like some ideas around how you could make that experience more powerful, more meaningful, and, “more like church,” join our panel of three amazingly creative young ministers who are doing a powerful job from the other side of that camera lens!
Revs Lauren Bennett and Wes Mullins of MCC of Greater St Louis, and Rev Marie Alford-Harkey of MCC of the Palm Beaches will be facilitating a discussion for online worship attendees in, “Preparing Yourself and Your Environment to Get the Most from Online Worship.”
How are you reshaping your “sanctuary”? Join us as we lead a discussion about worshiping from home in these Corona times.
We will consider questions like:
- How do we prepare for worship?
- What does worship look like, sound like, smell like, feel like at home?
- What are we learning about ourselves?
- How are these times changing our idea of church?
So, mark your calendar and join us!
Sanctuary’s Zoom Room : www.SanctuaryOnline.live
WEDNESDAY, May 27
Theologically Thinking, Wed. May 27th
8pm UTC / 4pm EDT (UTC-04)
You are invited to participate in our third “Theologically Thinking” conversation. In previous conversations in English and in Spanish, we asked how MCC’s Core Values (Inclusion, Community, Justice and Spiritual Transformation) might affect our decision-making about when/how to return to physical gatherings. This week’s multi-lingual, cross-cultural conversation will ask in what ways our theology of embodiment has or is changing during this pandemic. We will further discuss embodied theology through the lens of our Core Values. This conversation will happen in Portuguese, Spanish and English, in small and large groups. We will slow down enough to listen, translate and contemplate each other’s theological thoughts.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/91352966296
Meeting ID: 913 5296 6296
THURSDAY, May 28
Pray with Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston
Join Moderator, Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston for prayer every Thursday at 9pm GMT, 5pm EDT
Bring your joys, concerns, laments, and celebrations to Rev. Cecilia and one another. Meet us on Cecilia’s Facebook every Thursday at 9PM GMT (5PM EDT/ BST 10PM) @Cecilia.Eggleston.50
FRIDAY, May 29
FRIDAY NOON YOUR TIME – PRAY for Pastors, Pastoral Leaders, Boards, Lay Leaders and all MCC Chaplains.
SATURDAY, May 30
SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT
returns next Saturday, June 6
Looking Ahead
RAINBOW PRAISE LIVING ROOM CONCERT
June 1, 2020
7pm UTC / 3pm EDT (UTC-4)
We have our next concert date on our new platform! Pentecost Monday on June 1st at 12pmPT/ 3pm EDT/7pm UTC!
JOIN THE CONCERT HERE: facebook.com/rainbowpraise1 Come and be blessed!
In Case You Missed It . . .
PLANNING FOR IN-PERSON GATHERINGS
This was shared on Facebook. It does not include cleaning and sanitizing protocols yet asks good questions for Worship Team planners.
Notes from the Creative Worship Team at Founders MCC. This may be amended as we go, but it’s a great place to start as we begin to think about reopening. Thanks to Elder Larry Rodriguez for putting this together – YES! He’s well enough to meet us from home!
Section 1 – The Worship Service Itself – How will we do these things?
Entering the Sanctuary
Opening of Worship [Editors Note: Remember Congregational Singing is as high a risk as coughing or sneezing.]
Welcome and Passing Peace
Offering
Communion
Benediction
Closing of Worship
Exiting the Sanctuary
A challenge – how to create new “touch” points where worshippers can be touched emotionally and spiritually without physically touching or singing or coming together in close proximity
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Section 2 – Crowd Control Before Entering And After Exiting The Sanctuary
Before Worship (where / how do people gather at campus safely before service – who manages crowd)
After Worship (where / how do people disperse from campus safely after service -who manages crowd)
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Section 3 – Training staff (who will train, when, how)
Ushers
Worship Participants
Hospitality
Media Team
Music Team
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Section 4 – The Guidelines
Are there separate guidelines for worshippers and worship participants?
Who will establish guidelines?
How will they be disseminated, announced, etc.?
How much time between guidelines announced and first on-site worship service?
What are consequences for not adhering to guidelines?
How will they be enforced?
Guidelines for Churches – Center for Disease Control (USA)
The Associated Press reported (May 7) that the Center for Disease Control (CDC-USA) published a 17 page document “Guidelines for Implementing the Opening Up of America Framework.” It is widely reported that the Guidelines were shelved by the Administration. Here is a link to the document: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6883734-CDC-Business-Plans.html The Guidelines for Faith Communities appear on pages 7-9.
Counting Virtual Attendance
MCC has received a number of inquiries about how to count and report worship attendance during this time. Attached is a document to guide “Counting Worship Attendance in a Virtual World.” The very questions of how and what to report raises other questions about what metrics we think are important and why. No doubt we will be talking about this more as we continue to BE MCC in the virtual environment. In the meantime, please read the following document about Virtual Attendance.
RESOURCES
HAVE RESOURCES TO SHARE OR RECOMMEND? Send information and links to [email protected]
Links to Articles, Webinars and Resources
New Items Added Weekly!
- Austin Gay Men’s Chorus with Director Daniel Arredondo from UpRising MCC – This is a good possibility for Pride Month! https://www.facebook.com/danielarredondo/videos/10158391424594936/
- Check out the VLOG of Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes. Brent is the Founder and Executive Director of Rainbow Faith and Freedom. He is also the Pastor Emeritus of MCC Toronto https://www.facebook.com/revbrenthawkes
- CONVERGENCE offers many relevant courses: Professional development and online learning at the crossroads of leadership and faith. Check out the free course “What Will Happen to Our Churches?” A conversation with National Faith Leaders https://www.faithlead.org/
- Eden Theological Seminary E-Forum https://www.eden.edu/theological-e-forum/?fbclid=IwAR2CDcCUXqnSWaLmP-CIZ8Il6ApgO7ipLjWBLAA5ySDOU3bNiF0qYTp0tYg May 21st at 8pm EDT “Isolation and Spiritual Growth: A Journey to the Desert”
These links connect you to resources or webinars by ministry related companies. The listing here does not imply an endorsement nor does it imply that they are LGBTQ+ friendly. Nonetheless, these are resources some MCC’s have found helpful.
- A Conversation: What Do Science and Data Say About the Near Term Future of Singing Click Here The National Association of Teachers of Singing, the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Chorus America, Barbershop Harmony Society, and Performing Arts Medical Association (PAMA) present an important webinar about the near term future of singing as we seek fact based solutions in protecting our singers, teachers, and conductors during this time.
- 8 Ways to Lead in the New Digital Default Church – https://careynieuwhof.com/8-ways-to-lead-in-the-new-digital-default-church/
- The Original 2020 is History: 7 New Disruptive Church Trends Every Leader Should Watch https://careynieuwhof.com/the-original-2020-is-history-7-new-disruptive-church-trends-every-church-leader-should-watch/
- 11 Self-Care Steps for Leaders Who Are Barely Holding On from Christianity Today
- Here are 2 documents from the World Health Organization related to “Return to Church?”
Practical Considerations and Recommendations for Religious Leaders
Decision Tree for Religious Leaders - Returning to Church Wisconsin Council of Churches
- Essential and Virtual: Updated Guidance for Gathering The Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org
- How to Talk About COVID-19: Narratives to Support Good Decision-Making and Collective Action from TheWorkshop.org.nz
- COVID-19 Response Toolkit – connected to Church Mutual Insurance
REPLAYS OF WEBINARS
- THEOLOGICALLY THINKING (Session 1 in English) This was a conversation about the theological issues connected with returning to in-person gatherings and virtual gatherings in light of MCC’s Core Values.
https://youtu.be/cqnoQJxcCcI - CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER Here’s the link to this insightful webinar about our caring for one another during a time of such compound grief and loss. https://youtu.be/TuSgRH4i0uA
- RETURN TO CHURCH? In case you missed our webinar with 3 doctors discussing the concerns about gathering for in-person worship, here is the replay: https://youtu.be/1Jr0FmKBv2M
- COVID-19 and Singing, An Interview with Dr. Tim Seelig https://youtu.be/pHhgOEIsJlo
- FINANCIAL SUPPORT WEBINAR Did you miss this awesome webinar with guest Tom Melzoni from Horizon Stewardship? Here’s the link to the replay. Share it with your Treasurer and the rest of the Board.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gX3QolcY_xo
Watch on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/404785099 - THE CHURCH’S RESPONSE TO CRISIS, Parts 1, 2, 3, & 4
https://www.stjohnsmcc.org/response-to-crisis.html - VIRTUAL CHURCH – TOOLS AND TIPS WEBINAR
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-25Be5QcCA&t=160s
HAVE YOU UPDATED OUR ADDRESS YET?
Please share with your Treasurer and Clerk of the Board
2775 NW 49th Ave. Ste: 205-327
Ocala, FL 34482
USA