A Note From the Church Office, March 27th

Dear Salford Family,
     In this time of pandemic, as in any other time, the community of Salford Mennonite Church is committed to being the body of Christ together: to live and share the peaceable way of Jesus. Being a joyful learning community at this time means informing ourselves of best practices and doing our part to keep all safe. Christians throughout history have lived their faith in hard times – even during plagues. They will be our example, and God will be our sustainer, as we live life day by day. 
     This Sunday, taking every precaution to slow the spread of the coronavirus means that our worship service will be entirely pre-recorded, with none of us coming together in the worship space. The service will still be broadcast on Facebook at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, and everyone can still tune in and comment so we can worship together. We will be on at 9:50 again to allow you time to connect. At this time it is more important than ever that we “gather” in what ways we can – so join us! 
     Throughout the week we urge you all to take every precaution, as well:  wash your hands, maintain 6 feet of separation, avoid public places. In this way we love our neighbor as ourselves!  (Find more information here.)
     In addition, it is now more important than ever to proactively care for one another, and completing the Salford survey is one of the ways to do this.  Please fill one out – each of you! We want to know who may need assistance or an extra phone call, and who is available to offer support. This is a significant part of how we are “being the church” right now. 
     With the steady increase of Covid19 cases in Montgomery County, it will likely be some time before we can meet again in person. This means we will likely need to worship together differently even for Holy Week and Easter.
     We grieve the change this has made to our rhythm of faith life, in addition to our community life. There are many losses, and the ripples will be felt for a long time. At the same time, our connection with one another can remain strong. God has brought us together to support one another, to show the love of Jesus to each other and we will continue to do so as we always have. 
     In addition to supporting each other socially and emotionally, we seek ways to support each other financially.  Please see the separate note below regarding financial care and support at this time. 
     This week’s lectionary Psalm (130) contains these words: “My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning.” Together we will wait. Together we will stay alert, caring for one another as God cares for us, and watching for glimpses of hope that even now are visible.
     As we wait, we are here with you and we are here for you. Brad Alderfer is planning to work from the office as long as quarantine is not in place; Maria will be in the office as well, and Beth is now working from home but is still available. We are always available by phone (call or text) and email. Do not hesitate to contact us!

Financial care for each other and beyond
     Salford leadership has agreed to help support our Child Care employees as we are able. Salford has agreed to cover all costs normally shared with the Child Care operation, and some costs normally covered by Child Care, to allow them to conserve funds to continue to pay Child Care employees 2/3 salary during their time of shutdown. As a church we are actively working on reducing other expenses during this time of disruption. 
     Thanks to everyone who has responded to the church and Child Care’s financial needs by mailing in and dropping off your offering and setting up ACH offering automatic debit withdrawals. Our goal is to add a new offering option to our website by early next week as well. Please contact the church office if you have any questions about how to submit your weekly offering. We are grateful for everyone’s consistent commitment to funding the work and mission of Salford Mennonite Church. God has blessed us abundantly and we seek to always be good stewards of this blessing, by blessing others with this abundance and spreading God’s good news of healing and hope for this world. 

Church phone:  215-256-0778
Beth Yoder:  215-859-3617  …  yoderb@salfordmc.org
Maria Hosler Byler:   267-500-5679  … hoslerbylerm@salfordmc.org

To view past pastoral updates, click here.

Recording of Sunday March 22nd worship service:

Click here to access scripture discussion questions and children's resources for church   at home.

To access the Facebook Live streaming of our church service at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, go to the Salford Facebook page and click "Posts" on the left or scroll down until you see the current livestream.