eNotes

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Blaise Pascal was a 17th century philosopher who Albert Einstein called the greatest mind in modern history. He once wrote that “all of humanity’s problems stem from people’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” If that’s true, then what we could not do for ourselves, COVID-19 did for us! Your church does not want you to feel alone. First and foremost our God is “Emmanuel” which means “God with us.” Spend time talking with God while you have some down time.

Also, your pastors and staff want to stay in touch. On Mondays, we currently have “Monday Musings” at 7:00 AM and Noon via the church’s Facebook page and Facebook Live. Short devotions to start your week. facebook.com/garfieldchurch. Monday evenings at 7:00 PM, House of Prayer has moved to a call in at 605-313-5430, enter access code 811970.

On Wednesdays, our Mosaic worship team will provide a short “Worship on Wednesday” at 7:00 PM on Facebook Live. On Fridays, we have a “Faith on Friday” Zoom chat at Noon and 5:00 PM at https://bit.ly/GarfieldFaithFridays. Just click here or copy the link into your browser.

After a seamless Online Worship the previous Sunday, yesterday’s service had many glitches for some of you. The truth is that this happened most everywhere! Some of the largest internet platforms for worship literally got overrun yesterday as people around the world were turning to Online Worship. Something about that gives me great hope. Our tech team is meeting via Zoom later today and consulting with various companies in several states, to make sure we can provide quality worship each week. We will also be re-broadcasting our worship at multiple times for you to tune in. Currently we are scheduled for 10:00 & 11:30 AM on Sundays. Stay tuned… literally.

Back during the days of rampant fear over nuclear war, the picture of a daisy growing up through the cracks of concrete went “viral” (way before we ever used that term). It kind of became a worldwide symbol of hope. I have seen and heard several “daisies growing up through concrete” the last couple weeks. It was reported to me that at a Sam’s Club this past weekend, a much frazzled elderly couple got to the cashier who asked “Did you find everything you need?” The couple said that they were unable to find any bread as the shelves were bare. Behind them a 25 year old young man said “Ma’am, you can have my bread, and if there is anything else in my cart you need, you may have that too.” This morning my wife received an email from one of our “phone buddies” checking on our higher risk members at home. It said, “I signed up to help someone else, but after one phone call, it is apparent that God put (name of the person that they were assigned to call) in my life to help me!” (If you are interested in being a phone buddy or receiving a weekly call from a phone buddy – email phonebuddies@garfieldchurch.org).

Look for signs of God’s presence. Here is the verse that I was led to share in today’s noon time “Monday Musings,” “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock” (Psalm 27:5).