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A LETTER FROM PASTOR TIM:
Dear Bethel Church Family,
First, I want to say again how much Janice and I love you and miss you.
As you may know by now, President Trump declared yesterday (5/22/2020) that churches and other houses of worship are essential. You can read his declaration on any number of news sites, or watch it here: https://youtu.be/1jPP8IeOJj8
We applaud his words: church gatherings are essential to the spiritual health of millions of Americans, and I would add, and to America as a whole. But, then again, we already knew that. We look forward to the day where all church buildings are open, and we pray, are fuller than before the Coronavirus restrictions were implemented. At this point, it is unclear what legal ramifications the President’s declaration will have for individual states, including Oregon.
This development has led many of you to ask if Bethel Church will be open for in-person worship this Sunday, May 24. We will not. Others are wondering if this means the church building will be open for services in the next week or two. We are praying and believing we will begin meeting in person at the beginning of June, but we just don’t know for certain at this point. When the time comes for us to return, you can expect direct communication from Bethel Church leadership with as much notice in advance as possible. Believe me, no one is more determined to return to regular church services than we are.
I will add at this point that, thanks to the excellent leadership of Pastor BJ Dale, the Bethel’s Student Ministries are returning to gatherings immediately. They will keep those groups under 25 by doing a gathering for High Schoolers on Sunday evenings and a gathering for Middle Schoolers on Wednesday evenings. You can find more information about those gatherings on the Bethel website and the church Facebook page.
We ask for your continued prayer. Our church leadership needs wisdom from above to know how to balance the need for gathering, the scriptural commands to abide by the law, the physical health of those who are vulnerable, and our witness to our community. You can expect a follow-up email from me by the middle of next week with any updates we may have.
For now, I look forward to gathering with you through technology tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. at medfordbethel.com/live.
A number of our Life Groups will be meeting during that service and I would encourage you to join a Life Group or just get together with friends and family to worship together, get strengthened by God’s word and pray with and for one another. Our worship will be anointed and God has given me a special word on a very important practice that will fill us with transformational hope.
With our love,
Pastor Tim and Janice Olson
These are unique days, and with the news full of health concerns related to COVID-19, Pastor Tim and the team at Bethel Church want you to know that we are working to protect the health of our Bethel family and community, respect the Governor's declaration, and still include all members of our church family in our Sunday services, even if it's through a new format.
To accomplish this, we will be offering a LIVE STREAM of our weekend 10am Sunday morning services through our website.
For the time being we will NOT be meeting for services at the church building, in order to comply with the Governor's mandates. Service time will still take place online at 10am pacific time. Similarly, our Wednesday Pursuit Service will take place as a prayer meeting at 7pm on Facebook Live. To keep up to date with events that are still meeting and events which have been cancelled, please visit our EVENTS PAGE.
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