As we near the middle of the first week of official Social Distancing, we are experiencing the challenges of losing our communal connections and bonds. For us, as human beings, it is a very powerful reminder that we are social animals, we need others to truly survive and embrace the fullness of life.

We also understand that for the safety of so many in our society, that these are steps that must be taken to slow the spread of coronavirus and allow our medical industry to care for as many as possible without being overloaded.

As a community of faith, this means we need to find ways to stay engaged and in touch with one another. While the pastoral staff at GPC is exploring some ways to do this, we are certainly open to suggestions.

As some first steps, we have begun:

• Prayer and Share: A daily gathering on Zoom to allow us to begin the day with an opportunity to check in and offer prayers. The Zoom link is sent out around 8 am each morning for those interested in joining,
• Bible Study: At 10 am on Tuesdays, we are continuing to meet for Bible Study via Zoom. 
• Worship: We continue to gather at 11 am for a time of Worship.
• Lenten Program: We are continuing our conversation with the Bethel AME community this evening at 7 pm.

Other programs that are in the work:

• We are attempting to set up a time to have a Zoom call with students at the Givat Haviva International School in Israel. This is an opportunity to hear more about their experience. These students are presently in lockdown as Israel has really cracked down on social movement, so this gathering also gives them a chance to cure some of their cabin fever.
• We hope to create a time for us to discuss Holy Envy by Barbara Brown Taylor. This is the book that COALESCE has just begun, but the topics of the book are ones that we all can relate to from our own experiences. We will be in touch about this.
• We have looked into utilizing Google products to allow the members of the GPC Community to chat or even video chat with each other. We hope to have this set up sometime next week and we will schedule a time to walk people through it. This will allow us to have connections with each other without having to go through Zoom.

Again, these are just some of the things that we are working on, but feel free to share ideas if you have them.