The Journey Blog

Regathering this sunday!

6/24/2020

(Note: This is a letter mailed to The Journey Church on June 23.)

This Sunday, June 28, we will resume
in-person gatherings
at The Journey Church.

There are many differing viewpoints as to when and how to regather. For some of us that time was yesterday; for others, it’s clearly not yet; for still others, it’s a wait-and-see. May we respect and love each other enough to allow for these different opinions. As a community of Christ-followers, we are concerned about the common good. Please hear that well--it is another way of saying what God has commanded: Love your neighbor as yourself.

The opinions about how to gather are as varied as about when. Our concern for the common good—loving our neighbors—guides the how for The Journey. For the past two years, you have been hearing the phrase here, bringing hope and healing to our community and the world. Making that a practical reality as we regather is vital in these days of uncertainty, fear, unrest, and division. For that very reason—and I cannot express this strongly enough--YOU HAVE AN OPTION.

Starting Sunday, June 28 you will have the option of either attending a Sunday morning service LIVE at The Journey, or continuing to WATCH the same service ONLINE in the same format we’ve been using for the past three months. Whichever way you choose, we are still one church together in Christ, in two locations: one physical, one virtual. We are very blessed either way.

HEALTH MATTERS

The number of coronavirus cases in our county has increased sharply just in the past week. As of Monday, June 22, four new cases brought our total to 14. This isn’t over! With that said…

We do not intend to screen attendees’ health; you are the best judge of that.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 as described by the CDC, such as a frequent cough, fever, difficulty breathing, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, recent loss of taste or smell; or if you or someone you live with have been diagnosed with COVID-19, then please stay home and worship with us online.

If you are at high risk, please consider staying home and worshipping with us online.

PROTOCOLS AND GUIDELINES

Doors will be opened at 10:15am on both sides of the building: the main entrance on the south side and the opposite entrance on the north (lawn) side.
Face coverings will be strongly recommended*, in keeping with recent guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) stating that face coverings must be worn “in any indoor public space.” Please bring one and wear one. We will have disposable masks (and a few reusable ones) available.
Physical distancing will be honored and practiced in the building and parking lots. (Leave an extra space between cars whenever possible.)
Hand-sanitizer will be available by the entrances and restrooms.
Restrooms will be monitored/sanitized before, during, and after each service.
No separate childcare or children’s programs will be offered.
Families who attend need to sit and stay together.
Offering baskets will not be passed.
Bibles will be available in the entry. We encourage you to bring your own. (If you don’t own one, please feel free to take one home as our gift to you.)
No paper materials will be distributed.
Coffee and individually-wrapped snacks will be served by a volunteer.

* NOTE: The CDPH Guidance allows exemptions for certain individuals and/or for certain situations. If you do not meet one of those exemptions but still prefer not to wear a face covering, please consider choosing to worship from home through our online service.

Thank you for standing with us through these unique and challenging times.

Yours for the peace, grace, unity, and hope of the good news,

Pastor Randy

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Regathering: What to Expect

6/18/2020

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It’s almost here—the day so many of us have been waiting for: regathering! Next Sunday, June 28, will be our first Sunday of in-person worship in over three months. Would you please be praying over the next week as we finalize arrangements for regathering?

Let me give you a glimpse of what to expect and how you can help make this a great day of celebration, worship, and praise for all involved. Our number one concern as we regather is for your health in every aspect of life: spiritual, physical, emotional, relational, and mental. Much of what we will outline here, however, will focus on the physical.

First, you can expect a range of emotions—some surprising—as we emerge from these past weeks and look for an elusive sense of the familiar and normal. Some of the expectations you have will be met; some will not; some may be exceeded.

When you drive up the hill to the church, not much will appear different. To the extent you are able, we want to encourage you to put an extra space between cars in the parking lot. If you’re able, consider parking in the lower lot to allow room above for those who can’t walk as far.

Around 10:15am, we will open the doors on both sides of the building: the main entrance on the south side and the opposite entrance on the north (lawn) side.

We want to encourage you to wear a face mask. I know opinion on this is divided even among experts; so here’s my personal view: if there’s a chance you will be protected because I’m wearing a mask, I can live with the slight inconvenience. So I’ll wear a mask except when I’m up front.

When you come in, you’ll be greeted with a smile and an offer of spray hand sanitizer! Please take us up on the offer … just in case! (It will save you a trip to the bathroom to wash your hands right away!) We will not be using printed programs for the time being.

Entering the sanctuary, you’ll notice that the chairs have been separated and scattered into clusters of two to four seats in both the sanctuary and the social halls. Feel free to sit where you like, but this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences when I’ll ask that you not sit with people you don’t know! (Remember, the recommendation from health experts is to maintain physical distancing from anyone outside your own household.)

We have decided to have coffee, water, and individually-wrapped snacks available on the kitchen counter, all cheerfully served to you by a gloved and masked volunteer.

In order to guard the health of our technical team—and because we will continue to livestream in much the same manner we are currently—some of the presentation equipment will be moved to a table outside the sound booth.

This first service back will focus on prayer and reflection about what God has done in each of our lives over the past few months. What have you learned about yourself? …about God? …about His Word? What has been good? Hard? Please think about that over the next week and be prepared to briefly share your story.

Next week we’ll mail you a letter with a reminder about this (and anything else that may change before the 28th). Please feel free to call or email with any questions you have.

Thank you for standing with us through these unique and challenging times.

Yours for the peace, grace, unity, and hope of the good news,

Pastor Randy

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JUSTICE & RIGHTEOUSNESS

6/3/2020

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At 1 o’clock this afternoon, a peaceful protest is planned in downtown Sonora. As we have seen from news reports over the past week, such peaceful protests can often devolve into violence, rioting, and looting, in spite of the best plans and intentions of the protest organizers.

Sheriff Bill Pooley and Police Chief Turu Vanderwiel are confident we will not have this type of violence here in Sonora, but are fully prepared to respond as needed.

This protest, like others before it, is intended to honor the life of George Floyd and stand in support of #BlackLivesMatter.

I want you to know that as a movement, I believe there are some significant problems with #BlackLivesMatter. That is true of most movements. Those problems, however, do not diminish the core truth and central aim around which the movement is organized: the reality of systemic violence against Black people and the need for action to bring about justice and necessary change.

As Christians—and as a local church—we must stand for what God stands for: justice and righteousness.

Justice is about setting right what is wrong. It includes both punishing wrongdoers and caring for the victims of unjust treatment. In our nation, it includes condemning systemic injustice against people of color in general and black men in particular.

But we must also pursue righteousness—that is, living in right relationship with both God and with people; it is about right relationships between individuals, communities, nations … and races. Pastor Timothy Keller puts it this way:

“In the Bible [righteousness] refers to day-to-day living in which a person conducts all relationships in family and society with fairness, generosity, and equity.”

And so this afternoon, I intend to be present in downtown Sonora standing and praying for justice and righteousness … specifically, justice and righteousness for Black men and for the Black community.

I don’t ask or expect that you will join me downtown. I do ask that you join me in praying toward that same end: for justice and righteousness. As God said through the prophet Micah, “What does the LORD require of you but do justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?”

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Regathering this sunday!

HEALTH MATTERS

PROTOCOLS AND GUIDELINES

Regathering: What to Expect

JUSTICE & RIGHTEOUSNESS

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