To the saints and faithful of The Village Church, those scattered due to COVID-19 longing to be together again: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen."

The quoted part of the greeting above is from Galatians 1:3-5. As these weeks pass and so much of our fellowship comes through written text, I feel a much deeper appreciation for and connection to the saints from ages past. Believers who may have only had written text as their means of fellowship and communication. In this season of absence from one another we are blessed with so much technology! Whether FaceTime, Facebook, Zoom, YouTube, or some other platform, we are blessed with face to face, audible fellowship, prayer, and preaching! Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with these means.

I wanted to ask that you be praying for your leaders here at The Village Church and for church leaders everywhere. As talk of various jobs opening back up and a potential end to lockdown in a couple of weeks, there is much talk and increase question as to how and when churches will reopen. There is no information yet to glean as to when this could happen. I feel that it is unlikely that we will gather as a church in the month of May. We do not know what guidelines will be recommended for public gatherings or if there will be another spike or surge in the virus that extends public gathering restrictions. There are so many unknown variables. However, one thing is certain: the Lord is sovereign and in control of it all and we trust Him.

Until we can be together again, call your fellow believers. Text one another. Email each other. Use FaceTime calls, have Zoom meetings with one another, write letters, send cards! Use whatever means possible to stay connected with one another and to encourage one another in prayer and in the Word. It seems fitting to close with Paul's closure to the Galatian letter:

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit brothers. Amen."

Grace & Peace,
John
(You can reach Pastor John at jwhite@thevillagemi.com)