The Sabbath Way: Part 2
Online Worship for August 9, 2020

The people are to rest in God’s care on the 7th day and be renewed. It is an ancient commandment in need of our hearing and honoring today. The August series of online and outdoor worship services will offer us the time to honor the covenant of Sabbath and explore rest, resisting anxiety, re-creation & recreation, recovery and restoration as means of keeping holy time. Let’s develop tools and practices to address times of calm and chaos, loneliness and busy-ness, and times in between, too.

Our YouTube Sunday Worship Video Archive

First UMC & Ministry in the COVID-19 Pandemic

As Illinois and Cook County remain in Phase 4, the First UMC of Park Ridge – in harmony with guidelines of our denominational conference office – has engaged its reopening plan. As developed the Return Team of members and pastor and staff of the congregation, the reopening plan provides opportunities and safe protocols for worship, online fellowship, safe meetings and continued outreach. All current and future decisions for re-opening will be consistent with our care for the health of all members. We pray God’s blessing of good health and safety upon you and your loved ones. Check often for options to worship, learn and serve.

Worship

Online Worship. Pre-recorded worship services are posted by 8:30 am each Sunday. Go to the church’s Facebook page to interact with other worshipers in a live version of our service: 9:30 am Sundays. Check out the services on YouTube, too, at First UMC Park Ridge. The video service is posted by 8 am.

Outdoor Worship. Through Sunday, August 30, 2020, a 30-40 minute service is being held in the church’s Memorial Garden. Attendance is by reservation only. Members and friends are invited to contact the church office, 847.825.3144, to reserve your spot for outdoor worship. An email invitation to reserve a spot is sent Tuesday afternoon to every member household. In case of inclement weather, the service is cancelled.

Sanctuary Worship. As circumstances allow and return plan provides, in-person, reservation-based and safety monitored sanctuary worship will begin Sunday, September 13. The service will be limited to fifty people total. It will be 30-40 minutes in length, with face coverings and social distancing required.

Learn

Online learning for Children & Youth

Virtual Sunday school will begin on September 6th for preschool to 2nd grade students. Each child will receive a Wonder Box that contains a Celebrate Wonder Family Resource Book, an age-appropriate Celebrate Wonder activity pack, a Worship Kit, and fun crafts (no extra supplies needed).
Virtual Sunday school begins September 13 for 3rd to 5th graders via ZOOM at 9:30 am. We will watch the Celebrate Wonder video and then discuss the lesson, have some fun and enjoy “free” chat time.
For additional learning member families can visit the church’s Family + Faith + Fun Facebook Group.

Online learning for Adults

Sunday morning zoom, weekly online classes, and monthly online seminars on a variety of topics for adults continue into the late summer and fall. A new Disciple FAST TRACK, twelve week study, will begin mid-September. Contact the church office or our pastor for more information.

Serve

Ongoing activities open to all members and friends include meals to healthcare workers, cleanup of Axehead Lake, support of local food pantries, creation of face coverings for anyone in need, prayer squares for first responders, care for the clients of Avenues to Independence and outreach to the most vulnerable neighbors: the homeless, refugees, and the unemployed.

Office Hours, Staffing and Pastoral Care
The church office summer hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 2:00 pm.

Staff can be reached by their cellphones and email addresses. As always, Pastor David Aslesen can be reached for any member and for church needs at 708.441.5179 (call or text) and pastordavid@parkridgeumc.org.

Our primary calling as church in this time is to keep our congregation safe and connected to God, to one another and to the people & communities we serve. There is great love to be made known in this time – for friend and neighbor alike. My prayer is this difficult sheltering-in-place decision may reveal our church’s desire to be proactive and caring as we listen to and follow the lead of the international and local medical community on helping to limit the spread of the coronavirus in our area. It is critical that we care for each other, listen for God’s wisdom, and support the work of the church.

Rev. David Aslesen, Pastor

First UMC Park Ridge • 418 West Touhy Avenue • Park Ridge, IL 60068
847-825-3144 • office@parkridgeumc.org