Stuarts Draft Baptist Church May 2020

Pastor Will Kopp, preacherwill@hotmail.com Sue Haberlein, shaberlein@hotmail.com Pastor (540-245-0161) Minister of Music/Senior Adults

SDBC News

Behind the Beard

There have been so many things not going on here at Stuarts Draft Baptist Church. Not going on have been: Sunday School; rehearsals for choir, praise team, or bells; youth activities; Bolder; men's group. Our leadership teams haven't met in months, with the exception of the deacons who have consulted via Zoom teleconference. And then there have been no Wednesday dinners, Sunday prayer breakfast's, or fellowship luncheons. Somehow, I have contrived still to gain weight. It's mystifying.

We are, however, studying God's Word together. Zoom has been a God-send in this time of corona vi-rus. And it hasn't stopped us from gathering on Sunday mornings to worship electronically via Face-book live-stream. Well, except for those of you who aren't electronically enabled. If you aren't con-nected to the internet through a computer, smart phone, or tablet, church has been far away.

We're going to change that.

Come, worship with us, at the church, Sunday, May 3, at 11:00 am. We will not be in the sanctuary. Weather permitting, we will be holding, instead, a drive-in service on the south-side of the church. Here's how I envision this working:

You'll drive up and enter by "the narrow way." That is, come in the gravel drive at the front of the church near the crosses. We want to maintain a one-way flow of traffic (like Jesus is the one way!) coming in the front and exiting through the back onto Edgewood Lane. As you come in, there will be someone to guide you to a convenient parking space in the grassy area beside the building. Our wor-ship leaders will be set-up near the side door leading to the sanctuary. We will also have receptacles set up as you come in and as you exit to receive any offering you might bring. These will be clearly marked.

In order for us to do this, and fulfill our commitments under the quarantine restrictions, we ask that you keep in mind and comply with the following limitations: 1. Vehicles may contain no more than ten people. (I don't think that this will be a problem, but there

have been instances of people filling up buses and RVs at other churches drive-in services.) 2. Participants cannot pick up someone else on their way in. Only those living in the same place can

be in the vehicle. 3. No one can leave their vehicle while at the service. (Except those conducting it and there can be no

more than ten of those.) 4. Vehicles must maintain social distancing. This is generally interpreted to mean parking six feet

apart. If you follow the directions of our parking attendants, you'll be OK.

These are certainly strange times. But, strange times often drive us to see the Lord's hand moving in new and exciting ways. Come, be a part of this new excitement as we once again gather to worship the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Pastor Will

Page 2 SDBC News

S’More of Sue’s Thoughts

“Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.” Psalm 37:3

During these days of pandemic uncertainty, are you finding yourself worrying about the future? I know I must be diligent to stay grounded in God’s Word each day so that my thoughts do not drive me to be anx-ious or fearful about what the days, months, even years may bring. Perhaps when you imagine what's com-ing next, you see loneliness like a barren desert. Perhaps when you picture the future, it's full of work and responsibilities or you envision a life-landscape so altered that you won’t even recognize it to be the life you once knew before Covid-19.

Well, the Psalmist invites us all to picture a different kind of future. Those of us who belong to the Lord do not have to fear what is ahead. “Trust in the LORD and do good;” the Psalmist says, “dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.” So, when we trust in our faithful God, our whole landscape changes. Even if the actual circumstances of our future remain the same or even worsen, our trust in a good God to provide for us can change the way we walk through our days. As a result, the worry, the fear, and the anxiety can sub-side, and we can breathe in the peace and comfort only Jesus can give. Simply trust in the Lord. As we do, we can then choose to do good and to practice faithfulness even in these days of uncertainty.

I love and miss you all! Sue

Music, Adults 50+, and Ladies IMPACT Ministries Music Ministry Thoughts…I miss making music with my Worship Choir, Praise Team, Celebration Ringers, and Worship Orchestra Folks so very much!!!! I am continually asking God to bring about the time when we can all be together again. I am hungering to make joyful noises unto our God with you all!

Adult 50+ Ministry Thoughts…I look forward to a time when we can resume ministry to and with our 50+ Adults within our church family and in our community at large.

Ladies IMPACT Ministry…We continue to Zoom each Sunday evening at 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Ladies who are members of our church family, as well as others in our community or friends of friends, are all welcome to join in as we share and pray together.

Solid Rock Kids Ministry…I miss working with our children so much. I walk by our Solid Rock Room during the weeks, and our Fruit of the Spirit Rocks are still there waiting for us to return. Love, joy, peace, PATIENCE (!!), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control!!

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAID WAYNESBORO, VA 22980

PERMIT INDICIA—102 PO Box 1054

2517 Stuarts Draft Highway Stuarts Draft, VA 24477

540-337-1421 stuartsdraftbaptist@gmail.com

Stuarts Draft Baptist Church

May Birthdays 1 Rosemary Sparks, O’Shea Sanders, Martha Jane Lavender, Raymond Whitley 3 Morgan Lotts Rowzie, Chrystal Bartley 4 Angie Armentrout 5 Cael Pence 6 John Clements 7 Chance Chandler, Jack Kern, Enrique Hanson 9 Tori Campbell, Hailey McLain 10 April Anderson 11 Melissa Steele Burwell 12 Hannah Wolff 13 Tim Harris 14 Dreama Farrish, Camdyn Almarode 15 Affton Quick 16 Noranda Drumheller 17 Sara Groome, Greg Dedrick 18 Joanne Coffey, Shawn Lavender 19 Susan Layton Perry, Barbara Trumbo 20 Nathan Blacka, Robert Burritt, Tom Wagner, Jim Stephenson, Sylvia Bartley 23 Carla Curry, Colton Harris, Robert Thompson 24 Jacob Hutchinson 26 Clint Almarode, Gene Mays 27 Ed Lavender 29 Tina Blacka, Terra Kindig Patterson, Joni VanDevander 30 Gail Knighting

To our SDBC family, we are moving to Surfside Beach in South Carolina to enjoy warmer weath-er and be a bit closer to our children. Leaving the SDBC family has been a tough decision and the single major obstacle to our move because of

the loving relationship we've enjoyed with each of you. Over the years that we are unable to count, we've experienced all the highs and lows a family goes through and we want you to know how much we love each of you and will miss you so very much. We wish you the very best and look forward to remaining on the distribution list where we can hear of the great things going on at the church. You both individually and collectively will forever be in our prayers. We hope to see you soon, either back in Stuarts Draft or at the Beach. Love and best wishes Mike and Sue Clark 560 Hickman St. Myrtle Beach S.C. 29575

MAY ANNIVERSARIES Derek and Amber McLain, May 5, 2006 Larry and Amy Campbell, May 7, 1976 Lynwood and Sandy Hutchens, May 12

Wayne and Joni Vandevander, May 21, 1977 Jason and Vonda Hutchinson, May 23, 1987

EW & Chrystal Bartley, May 24, 2002 Fred and Janet Sorrell, May 25

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Looking Forward I'm sure that many of you are wondering some of the same things I am. "What's it going to be like when we get back to church?" Do we immediately go back to "business as usual?" Do we hold unrestricted events as though nothing has happened with Sunday School at 9:15, Worship at 10:30? Not to mention Wednesday din-ners and Bible study, choir and bell rehearsal, Bolder, Ladies Bible study, Men's Group, etc.? While that sounds nice, I'm not sure that I am comfortable with that. I don't know how comfortable others may be. Even if there are substantial legal reductions in the limits that have been placed on us, every authority I've heard is adamant that the threat of infection will remain for months. And our community of believers is comprised of the most threatened, most susceptible, most vulnerable of the population.

While churches aren't the only culprit, many outbreaks have been traced to churches. It is no surprise given the physical closeness that our activities and ministries promote. We call ourselves "the family of God" and families tend to be close. How do we deal with this going forward when closeness can be fatal?

Covid-19 is a respiratory illness. Breathing spreads it. Wearing facial coverings constrains it. I've been out to places like the grocery store and Lowes. I've noticed that there are many people who now cover their face. There are also many who don't. I do. Always. With a real respirator, not just a mask. Inside a church build-ing, should we all be wearing masks? I think its worth considering.

The virus also spreads by contact, such as from one hand to another. It has been suggested that we have hand sanitizer at all the entrances. Before things started shutting down, I tried to get some for the church. That or-der remains unfilled. So, while I'm in agreement with that idea, I've found that wanting hand sanitizer and get-ting it are two different things. I was able to pick up a couple bottles of high-potency alcohol hand sanitizer the other day, but can't guarantee a steady supply.

What about social distancing? Restaurants, it has been suggested, will need to reduce their number of tables with sufficient distance between them. How do we do that with pews? Shall we mark off sections? Limit who can sit together? And what about things such as choir? How do you keep each choir member six feet from the next and still fit into the choir loft? Or concentrate the sound? Can you imagine our choir with each person six feet away from the next and wearing masks? Sue and I have. It's not fun. Same thing for Sunday School. None of our classes would fit in their rooms if everyone had to be six feet apart. And I am reasonably confident that will be the expectation for quite a while.

Let me throw this out for your consideration: Suppose, when the restrictions are lifted (and this depends somewhat on what restrictions remain), we do a "soft re-start." For the first few weeks, maybe a month, we hold only worship services. We require those in attendance to cover their faces with masks or a scarf. We establish some social distancing rules that prevent people from gathering too closely. We discourage hand-shaking, etc.. We have our ushers greet everyone with a spritz of hand sanitizer and even direct people to their seats in order to maintain social distancing. Those leading worship could be exempted from the face covering rule while they are on the podium, maintaining a safe distance from the congregation. As soon as they come down, masks go on. We hold off on choir for a while, concentrate our music on solos and congregational singing. With time, we can learn how better to adapt to this new normal, reclaiming some of our traditional structures without overly exposing ourselves to unnecessary risks in the early, and still fragile, stages of recov-ery from pandemic. We can continue teleconferencing our Bible studies, which have been better attended electronically anyway. I don't know if this is a viable answer, but it is a way to start that the deacons are dis-cussing.

One more thing: I doubt that we will ever return to the way things were before the pandemic hit, and trying to do so may prove a mistake. That isn't pessimism, it is optimism. It would be pessimistic if I believed that the way we were "doing church" before this virus hit was the ideal, perfect, absolutely best, God's only way of doing church. It wasn't. No way is. Throughout its history the church has used many forms to live out its re-lationship with its Lord. The early church met in houses for prayer, religious talk, and the sharing of letters from itinerant evangelists. Some still do. At other times the church left it all up to the pros, with the priests doing the preaching, the singing, and praying. The church was a silent witness. Some still do. Our way of Sunday School before Worship, and all the other attendant events is just one way of doing church, not the only way. And, we shall find a new way. Some of those new elements may look a lot like the old, but we need to beware we don't try to pour new wine into old wineskins. Jesus doesn't encourage that.

Pastor Will