During this time of novel corona virus pandemic, Faith Lutheran Church is praying for you. To help flatten the contagion curve we have suspended our church activities for the time being in order to minister to our most vulnerable family, friends, and neighbors. If you, yourself, are concerned about your own health risks and discern it beneficial that you limit your public exposure, feel free to email me at rev.sethnelson@gmail.com or call the church at 676-2721 and leave a message. Volunteers have offered to grocery shop and do other errands for anyone who requests it, thereby limiting exposure risk to anyone who discerns that they are vulnerable to the worst effects of the virus.
During the Reformation, Martin Luther's home city of Wittenberg was threatened by the Boubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death. While this disease is far worse than many of the symptoms of the novel corona virus, there is significant overlap in how people responded to that outbreak and how we are being called to respond today. Many wanted Luther and his family to flee since he was an essential figurehead to the Reformation movement. He refused, saying that it was a crucial act of faith that we care for the sick, especially when they cannot care for themselves. Luther wrote:
"I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence." - Martin Luther, "Whether One May Flee from the Deadly Plague", 1527
We will heed his instruction by praying for God's protection, sanitizing ourselves and our dwellings, being mindful of of refraining from unnecessary meetings with others, and being diligent not to contaminate others through our own negligence.
During the Reformation, Martin Luther's home city of Wittenberg was threatened by the Boubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death. While this disease is far worse than many of the symptoms of the novel corona virus, there is significant overlap in how people responded to that outbreak and how we are being called to respond today. Many wanted Luther and his family to flee since he was an essential figurehead to the Reformation movement. He refused, saying that it was a crucial act of faith that we care for the sick, especially when they cannot care for themselves. Luther wrote:
"I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence." - Martin Luther, "Whether One May Flee from the Deadly Plague", 1527
We will heed his instruction by praying for God's protection, sanitizing ourselves and our dwellings, being mindful of of refraining from unnecessary meetings with others, and being diligent not to contaminate others through our own negligence.
hymn of the Day
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