Dear Vinje Members,
After a morning of discussion among varied local and church leadership, Bethel, Calvary, and Vinje Lutheran Churches are enacting a two-week suspension of our public worships and scheduled activities, beginning immediately. This two-week period will conclude on Friday, March 27. Continual review of day-to-day best practices will be ongoing throughout these two weeks and longer, if necessary. We realize the time of uncertainty in which we find ourselves. Most importantly, however, we are wanting to adhere and abide by the social distancing and limiting group activity that is being strongly suggested by federal and state officials to hopefully lead to “flattening the curve” of outbreak that will benefit our most vulnerable and our medical personnel on the front lines of care and help. Right now, this is how we best believe we can “love God and love our neighbors as ourselves.” This Sunday morning, at 9:30am, we invite you to tune your radio to KWLM (1340AM) for a live broadcast of a joint worship led by Bethel, Calvary, and Vinje pastors and a few musicians. There will also be a taped radio rebroadcast at 10:45 a.m. As is our usual custom, we will also be offering video of this worship via livestream, and a link to the video can be found after the service on Vinje’s website. The worship will be put on all three church websites and will also broadcast on the local access channel, WRAC 19/188, on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Another suggestion (perhaps for families with kids but also for any family unit) is to create your own worship for this Sunday, remembering the very important teaching from Martin Luther that “faith very much forms in the family.” Have some fun with this, have your kids plan this, or as an individual/couple try a form of worship you haven’t before. Take a picture or video and post it to our Facebook page or email it to us for us to share on your behalf (maybe listening to the radio broadcast in your recliner or the interesting way your kids replicate the pastor’s robe or other parts of worship). We thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support as we do our best to support you and the overall coronavirus response. Our prayers and action are important. At this time, our staff at Vinje will continue our weekly office hours. We will look for innovative ways to do ministry and to reach out using technology. We encourage you to email or call your pastors and staff for support. In the days ahead, we may all need to play a role in new efforts to help support our community. We encourage you all to be in loving service to the neighbors around you. We will continue to keep you informed regarding church and community plans. In this uncertain time, know that our faith and trust in God and our love for one another is more important than ever. We may not know what the future holds, but we know that the future is in God’s hands.
May God bless you all.
Kevin Hanson, Council President
Pastors Justin, Dane, and Andres