Good Friday morning Church Requel!
I don’t know what you’re facing this morning, but here in Mansfield I’m facing another dump of snow overnight. For the 4th time in 6 days, I’ll be shoveling our way out of our driveway. Fun! Yes, I jest. Frigid Arctic temperatures for us here this weekend too.
However I’m well aware that not all of US are from Mansfield any more. As I write to you all this morning I am thinking about England, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, Alabama. Here’s hoping the weather in your neck of the woods is more accommodating.
Regardless of where you are located, the vast majority of us worship together via the online stream on Facebook or YouTube. Last week was our first Sunday to broadcast on YouTube. Those of you who watched that way have let me know how much you liked it. Many of you have YouTube available on your larger TV screen and so you can share the worship experience easier with your entire family.
This past weekend was the first time we could share the comments directly to the worship stream. This is a great way to increase the feeling of belonging and participation. When you comment - regardless of whether you are on Facebook or YouTube - we can include the comment in the lower third of the screen. With this improvement comes a couple of opportunities.
First - DO SHARE YOUR COMMENT! Consider that if you were physically in our worship service, you would probably raise your hands or say an “Amen” or just nod your head and smile. When you engage in worship like this, you are more tuned in to the Spirit’s leading and provide encouragement to others to worship more freely. How do we do this when we are separated physically? By sharing our encouragements via comments. By hitting that “like” or “heart” button. I loved it that some of you even commented as a reply to others that you were praying for them.
Second - CONSIDER HELPING US MODERATE! Brandi and I have figured out how to share these comments in real time onto the screen. But we cannot do this at the same time that we are up front leading the worship. We need help from those of you who are watching the stream.
GOOD NEWS HERE! Our first volunteers have stepped up. Mike and Leanna (aka the Dry Campers) told me this week that they would be willing to moderate our comments when they are located with stable internet. They travel each week to a different place to install solar and lithium systems on RVs and often travel on Sundays. So they can’t do it every week. If we had a couple more online participants be willing to help out, that would be great. It’s not a difficult thing to do. Let me know if you would be willing to help us out with this too. (And thanks Mike and Leanna!)
Speaking of the online stream, I continue to work to improve it. Assuming I can dig out today and get down to the church this morning, I plan to hard wire our streaming computer directly to our Internet provider. When I reviewed last Sunday’s stream, I noticed some pixelation and an occasional drop-out of the sound. I think this is a function of our WiFi connection. If this is the case, connecting a cable from our computer directly to our router could help improve that connection for us. So I’m going to try to be a computer tech guy today. Wish me luck. Just another thing they don’t teach at seminary!
Here is what we have planned for this Sunday. We are looking forward to our worship experience with you. We'll sing praise songs including "Sing Wherever I Go" by We The Kingdom, "Great Are You Lord" by All Sons & Daughters, "See A Victory" by Elevation Worship, "Grateful" by Elevation Worship, and "My Feet Are On The Rock" by I Am They. Mike and Leanna will read our Scripture, 1 Peter 1:13-22. Our sermon is titled, "Deliciously Different." We'll also pray for our congregation's needs and share communion together. So whether in person or online, plan to join us 11am EST Sunday morning, February 7th!
I hope you are all doing well. I pray for you often. Please do the same for me! Love you all much! Pastor Mark
