May 5th MCCC Update, Resources & Zoom Meetings

mcccadmin

05/05/2020

Greetings Church Family!

God’s peace, love, and strong presence be with you. As the world starts to creep open it is a difficult time for many of us. We are all processing the effects of the pandemic differently and we all have reasons for feeling the way that we do. Some of us are angry and resent the opening. Some of us are relieved and hopeful for income and the world to turn again. Some of us are struggling with what the future may hold. It is important to recognize that all of us are grieving in some way and to different intensities. Give yourself space to feel as you do and please offer an extra dose of understanding and compassion to those who are reacting differently. One of my fervent prayers of late is that God would give me an extra supply of patience, compassion, and strength. Please know that I’m hear to listen if you need space to process things or get things off your chest. God’s peace surround you and keep you….

Update

At this point nothing has changed on our plan as a church to remain worshiping remotely. We are in no rush and want to be deliberate and safe in everything we do. Take this time to be even more intentional about your own spiritual disciplines (reading scripture, listening to music, walking in the woods, working in the garden, etc). Most of us have been Christians our whole life so by now, we will hopefully know where to get our spiritual food! That being said, many of us get so much from being together in corporate worship… this time is hard for all of us! Hang in there and know God is bringing renewal, creativity, and new life… as God always does.

Resource

In our Tuesday Life Study we’ve had the pleasure of hearing from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on ways we can be cope with this difficult time. He cites five tips from Natan Sharansky who was held captive by the KGB in Soviet Russia for nine years.

As interpreted by Rabbi Sacks, here are the 5 tips (if you’d like to read them in Sharansky’s words, I’ve included part of the article below):

(1) Focus on what you can control
(2) Keep mind active
(3) Never lose your sense of humor
(4) Think of the group you’re a member of and know you’re not alone
(5) Think of the bigger picture in world history — past, present, and future

Zoom Opportunities

This week, we will have several opportunities to gather over Zoom call!
Life Study, Wednesday Prayer, and MCCC Kid’s Call (see sign-in info below)
(NEW PASSWORD IS: 1111). If you would like to gather for prayer or conversation (individually or small group), please be in touch with me.

Life Study from 6:30-7:30pm continues the interview with Rabbi Jonathan Sacks called “How we can navigate the coronavirus pandemic with courage and hope.” All are welcome even if you missed the first sessions.
Wednesday Prayer – Afternoon at 2:00pm. We will gather for a time of sharing and prayer. Please join us to pray for our congregation and community.
MCCC Kid’s Call on Thurs at 7:00pm. We will have another Scavenger Hunt and hear a story. Feel free to invite friends and family to join us.

God’s hope, peace, and love abide with you and your families during this time!

In Christ,
Pastor Chad & Pastor Sarah

Zoom Opportunities

Tuesday Evening at 6:30pm

PHONE IN:
1. Call +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
2. Enter Meeting ID: 464 703 266 (press #)
3. It will ask for “Participant ID or just press #. Just press #

Video Link: https://zoom.us/j/464703266
Password: 1111

Wednesday Prayer at 2:00pm

PHONE IN:
1. Call +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
2. Enter Meeting ID: 991 949 556 (press #)
3. It will ask for “Participant ID or just press #. Just press #

Video Link: https://zoom.us/j/991949556
Password: 1111

Thursday Evenings at 7:00pm MCCC Kids Story Time & Check-In

PHONE IN:
1. Call +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
2. Enter Meeting ID: 737 154 588 (press #)
3. It will ask for “Participant ID or just press #. Just press #

Video Link: https://zoom.us/j/737154588
Password: 1111

Rabbi Sacks

Excerpt from ARTICLE with Sharansky –
5 Tips for Quarantine

“The first is to remember why you are in quarantine. Sharansky says he had to remind himself he was part of a “huge, global war,” and that now people should remember that we are “at war with a very dangerous, though invisible, enemy and whether we succeed in the battle depends on your behavior.”

Tip No. 2 is not to assume it all will be over within a few days or weeks, and to make plans that depend only on oneself, such as reading a book or learning a language.

The third tip, which the internet seems to be following anyway, is not to lose one’s sense of humor and to tell and hear jokes about the situation.
“I remember how in prison I enjoyed telling anti-Soviet jokes to my prison guards,” Sharansky says.

The next tip is not to give up hobbies.
Sharansky, who was a chess prodigy as a child and at 15 won the championship in his native Donetsk, could play chess without a board and famously kept himself sane in prison by playing thousands of games against himself in his head.

The fifth and final tip is to “feel your connection and remember that you are not alone.”
“We Jews, for thousands of years, all over the world, were scattered. But we always had this feeling that we are part of a big people, a great people, with our mutual past, with our mutual future, and with our mutual mission,” he says.

“Think about it. Feel your connection.””
https://www.timesofisrael.com/natan-sharansky-gives-tips-for-quarantine-based-on-soviet-gulag/

About Natan Sharansky