Not much to report on our usual weekly activities, as all gatherings are cancelled, but here's a few notes on Church to share:
Staying Connected
In this time of separation, we are collecting messages to be shared with your fellow church members! Send your thoughts and greetings, joys and concerns, by email or phone. We'll compile these messages and send them via email (and I'll print out copies and deliver them to those without email). Send notes to Pastor Paul: pastorpaulvanantwerp@gmail.com / 218-349-0143 or to the office: office@unitedprotestantchurch.org / 218-626-2570. Let those you love know how you're doing, and that you are thinking of them.
Helping One Another
For those in need of assistance of any sort at this time, there are a great many resources our church and community can provide. We'll do our best to keep track of these. If you need a hand (or know of somebody who does) send a note to Pastor Paul or the office. You are not alone.
Offering
The majority of our income here is based on the offering we receive on Sundays. Without meeting, there is concern that we will significantly diminish our financial resources. We kindly ask that, if possible, you continue to contribute as you would during worship. You can mail any offerings directly to the office at 830 88th Avenue W., Duluth, MN 55808. Unfortunately, the bulk of the church's operating expenses will continue even while we are forced to suspend services – insurance, utilities, etc.
From Pastor Paul:
Clarice and I were looking up a song today…she had heard it recently and asked me about it. My ears perked up and my tail started wagging for she mentioned words that I knew well! (And now poor Clarice can't get through a day here without me bellowing the words everywhere I go.) The song is best known as "How Can I Keep From Singing?" but it's often found in hymnals by the first line:
My life flows on in endless song, above earth's lamentation
I hear the sweet, though far off hymn, that hails a new creation.
Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear the music ringing
It finds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing?
According to my two-bit research, it was written by Robert Wadsworth Lowry in 1868. It was embraced by the Quaker faith after the Civil War, and after entering public domain can now be found in countless recordings in oodles of versions. The one I have in my head (and keep pestering Clarice with) is a version from Pete Seeger, but here's a version from A Capella Academy (Students 12-18) in Los Angeles: https://youtu.be/nDmaZBX1Tew .
It's a song that frankly tells us that no matter what the world might throw our way, nothing can take away our hope, nor the song in our hearts, as people that know and feel God's presence. Or, as the lyrics sing:
What though my joys and comforts die? My savior still is living.
What though the shadows gather 'round? A new song Christ is giving.
No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that Rock I'm clinging.
Since Love commands both heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?
Friends, we can't gather now, but that doesn't mean we cannot sing. We can't recite the Lord's Prayer in unison, but that doesn't mean we cannot pray. We cannot lift up our joys and concerns in our time of worship, but we can still share our thoughts and faith and love to one another.
To "that Rock" we truly still cling. When we cannot sing together, we sing for each other. When we cannot pray together, we pray for each other.
Now, more than ever, "Keep in Touch!"
Pastor Paul