Thank You, Advent! – Here’s how your gifts have helped:
At the January 2020 Voters’ meeting, the congregation approved giving 10% of Advent’s actual (rather than budgeted) 2019 general fund offering. The portion that constitutes the difference between the two ($2,648) would be used for relief from disasters or other emergency situations. Given the numerous disasters taking place, the Advent Church Council approved $1,250.00 be sent to the Iowa East derecho relief effort and $ 1,250.00 be sent to Southern District hurricanes Laura and Sally relief efforts.
Iowa District East – We were led to conversations with Pastor Alex Post, Redeemer Lutheran Church, in Marshalltown, IA. Pastor Alex suggested our gifts be used to help two families displaced from their homes by serious tree damage caused by the derecho in August. Mrs. Clayton, a widow, is currently staying with her daughter. The McKibben family is now housed in a motel. Dad is a farmer, mom is a teacher, and they have two boys Nolan (6) and Eli (4). Redeemer is working closely with families in their congregation and the community as they clean up, repair and recover.
Southern District – The Southern District LCMS (LA, MS, AL, and the western end of the FL panhandle) has been hard-hit by hurricanes this summer. Since our Southeastern District (SED – Where Advent is located) so far has been spared damage from major hurricanes, the Council voted to send money to the Southern District’s Disaster Relief Fund to help, as there are needs.
Thank You, Advent! Forward Together in Christ Team
Carolyn Jones, Lydia Berrong, Dave Neely, John Cangelosi, Ron Hinkle, John Stow, Pastor Scott
Contact Pastor Scott if you’d be interested in helping with disaster relief or to be part of this group:Pastor’s Direct Email
Current Updates from the Coronavirus Safety Team – The ACTS (Advent Coronavirus Team of Safety) committee met on September 24. We are cautiously optimistic about planning for meeting in person. We are looking at data from the Synod, state and local government. We are currently in the governor’s Phase 2.5 and we are looking to Phase 3 to be implemented. Trends in the state are moving downward and we want to see that continue. Orange County guidelines have been stricter than the state and we are respecting the guidance of our local government. We are also looking to recommendations from local churches who are working together to keep safety at the forefront. At this time, we will continue to meet virtually. The decisions we are making are for TODAY, not for forever.
Taking all of these factors into account, the ACTS Team will meet again on October 15 to see how the numbers are trending. If we can move forward to an in-person service, we will follow distancing and masking guidelines. An online option will continue to be offered.
Whether we are meeting in-person or virtually, we stay comforted in knowing that Advent continues to be the Body of Christ and we also continue to have opportunities to grow in the Lord and we are making Him known.
For more information, click here for the August Letter from the ACTS group.