Churches remain closed due to Safer at Home Directive
Published 1:27 pm Thursday, April 16, 2020
Most, if not all churches, are streaming their services online due to the Safer At Home Directive from the County Mayor and Tennessee Governor’s Office.
However, First Christian Church, Elizabethton, announced this week that communion is available in the fellowship hall of the church from 8 to 10 a.m. each Sunday.
“We hope you join us each week (from your home) until we can worship the Lord again in person,” an office employee said.
First Christian is located at 513 Hattie Ave.
First Presbyterian Church will have an online worship service Sunday. The Rev. Bryan Wyatt’s sermon is titled “The New Normal” based on Joshua 5: 6-12. Youth and Adult Forums, Wednesday Meditation, and Thursdays with Jesus will meet online this week. Details are at www.fpcelizabethton.org.
All in-person events at the church have been cancelled.
Some churches are engaging a daily prayer time with their congregations.
Valley Forge Free Will Baptist Church asks families to pray daily at 7:14 a.m. and again at 7:14 p.m. for the “healing of our land.”
The pastor of First Free Will Baptist Church, Elizabethton, asked his church members to pray each day at 9 a.m., 12 noon, and 3 p.m. for the world, nation, and local community.
Also, Michael Klaus, minister at First Christian Church, has asked church members and the community to join their hearts in prayer each day at 4 p.m.
This is not the first time that churches have not had worship services due to epidemic. Technically, it happened before in 1918 due to a flu outbreak, but not many people are around from then.
And churches are trying to change with the times, finding ways to get their message out to their congregations where gathering together in large numbers isn’t safe, and the internet and social media are playing a big part in these efforts.
