I’ve been reflecting a lot this week about where we find ourselves after one year of this COVID logjam. I’ve been excited to see how God has used this time in my life to form me to be more like Jesus. As I think back on this past year, I’ve had to pivot more times at work, at home, with family, and plans, than at any time in my life.

We’ve done all of this with limited information, changing narratives, political uncertainty, cultural tensions, economic insecurity, and relational tension. Wow, I am amazed at how God built such resilience and flexibility into us when He designed us as human beings. As much as I’ve leaned into Him during this past year, I have found myself more fatigued, anxious, guarded, insecure, and flummoxed than I can ever recall. It’s like a tsunami of waves coming one after another.

I’m super proud of our church and the way we’ve navigated these choppy waters during this past year. It’s stretched us, redirected us, and challenged us, and I’m glad God has been here with us the entire time. We have exercised confident trust (we used that phrase last Sunday to describe what it means to become more like Jesus) and faith as we’ve leaned hard into Him.

We continue to grow in our COVID awareness and how we observe the guidelines and restrictions. We will continue to observe safety precautions such as wearing masks, distancing socially, and disinfecting common areas.

Since we’ve been meeting again in person, our process has been to play music that was recorded during the week for that portion of our worship. We had been doing that during our online only phase. Beginning this Sunday, our music team will join us as we worship together. They will be socially distanced on stage, and over 20 feet away from any person not on the stage. Our room is large and extremely well ventilated with great air flow, and we feel this is a safe approach for us as we move into the summer months.

Folks, as we continue to take steps out of our COVID logjam, it’s imperative that we place all our hope in God and our mission to Love Everyone Always. We love people by giving them the freedom to be where they are – even if we may disagree – allowing God to be the ONE we follow. That means we give people the freedom (without judgment) to continue worshipping online or to begin gathering in person. I’m excited to be taking more steps to reopen our services and ministries and provide opportunities for people to hear about the love Jesus has for them.

Easter is just one week away! We’re going to have four identical services so you can invite your friends to attend in person with you or gather online with you. You will be able to make sure we can have plenty of space by choosing to attend at 6:00pm on Saturday or at the 8:00am service on Sunday. That will allow us to have plenty of room for everyone.

Our Children’s Ministry team has adapted and creatively changed the annual Easter Egg Hunt into an Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt. Families will go on an adventure by car to various locations around our community where they will snap a photo, collect candy, and meet some of our Ministry Partners. They will then race to the church and celebrate victory by having a picnic. You can bring your own lunch or buy a Domino’s cheese pizza for $5. Join us on the lawn for live music and games. Make sure to check out the website for all the details.

We’re also going to baptize at all the services for Easter. If you’ve never been baptized, please consider this opportunity. We’ll make sure to be COVID safe, and you’ll be part of making our services even more Spirit-filled. If you’re interested in going public for Jesus, please contact Mare. She’ll give you the scoop and get you ready.  You can attend the baptism class that will meet this Sunday at 9:00am.

We will wrap up our Journey with Jesus series on Sunday as we talk about the third aspect of the spiritual growth vision we’re adopting for TCC. In this series, we are laying out a paradigm of spiritual growth and personal transformation that is powerful for our church family. If you’ve missed the first two messages, you’ll want to watch them soon and be ready to engage with the rest of the series. The key idea is that we’re called to be Followers (Apprentices) of Jesus. Our quest is to carve out space to Be with Jesus so that we Become Like Jesus and then we naturally Do What Jesus Did.

Our message on Sunday is Do What Jesus Did. I am so excited to listen as Pastor Mark explains the pillars of this key component of our vision.

Here are the links you’ll need to be fully prepared for Sunday’s Service:

• Message Notes and Study Guide
• Weekly Spotify Playlist
• Children's Ministry
• Student Ministry 

If you aren’t ready to attend a public gathering yet, let me encourage you to keep your Sunday rhythms by watching the service live at either 9:00 or 11:00am. I believe that will help you stay disciplined as we walk this road of COVID restrictions together and help our church family feel your nearness and encouragement as we continue to “gather” in His name.           

You can watch the current service or an archived service on demand any time you want from our website or APP. Here’s an idea: When you’re watching online, please invite your friends to join you. If you haven’t downloaded the TCC APP, go to the APP store and search for TCC GRASS VALLEY and download it today. You can watch the service right from your device.     

Joyfully living everyday life on mission in intimacy with Jesus and others,

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