“We are to fear and love God, so that we neither endanger nor harm the lives of our neighbors, but instead help and support them in all of life’s needs.” —Martin Luther
In the next few weeks, our life together is going to look different. However, that doesn’t mean that relationships need to stop. Connection doesn’t need to stop. Growth doesn’t need to stop. Love doesn’t need to stop. And ministry in the name of Jesus Christ doesn’t need to stop.
This page is intended to be a landing pad for information about what we are doing together at SOTC from Thursday, March 19 through Sunday, April 12. Be sure to check back here often for updates!
Overall Schedule of Events
Worship, Sundays @ 9:00 a.m.
Though we won’t be gathering in person, we encourage our SOTC community to commit to setting aside time each Sunday morning to join us for Zoom worship. If you are not a member of SOTC, but would like to join us in Zoom worship, email Pastor Aleese. We will be recording our Zoom worships and will be sharing those later in the day on Sundays. To find links to our most current, and previous, worship videos and any resources encouraged by Pastor Aleese, click on the red link.
Youth Group, Sundays @ 5:00 p.m.
Our Youth Group will gather virtually on Sundays via Zoom. If you – or your youth – would like to be involved, email Pastor Aleese.
Music Mondays, Mondays @ 6:30 p.m.
We all need something to brighten our days. Tune in to a Live Stream from Pastor Aleese and various guest artists throughout these weeks ahead. Click here for links to our most current, and previous, videos.
Faith on the Go, Tuesdays-Fridays @ 12:00 p.m.
Looking for a brief devotional amidst your day? Tune in to a Live Stream from Pastor Aleese at about 12:00 p.m. each Tuesday -Friday. Some days Pastor Aleese will be sharing Live Streams from other congregations so as to get a glimpse of our connection to the broader church. Links to today’s devotion, and previous devotions.
Children’s Chat, Wednesdays @ 6:00 p.m.
Each Wednesday, we’ll have a short video especially designed for our kiddos. Some weeks this will be a short Bible story that is read. Other weeks it might be a short Sunday School song and a suggestion for an activity. Every week, this will be accompanied by a children’s bulletin that kids can use with their families. Links to videos and children’s bulletins.
Lenten Small Groups, Wednesdays @ 7:00 p.m.
We encourage our current small groups to continue gathering virtually. Small group leaders are contacting their small groups to determine the best platform for connection for each group. Want to be a part of a group? Email Pastor Aleese and she will assign you to a group and/or start another group based on interest.
For those who gathered for Ash Wednesday worship with us, you heard the invitation given to “return to the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul.” Each year, along with Christians around the world, we mark this sacred time to return once again to the cross, and to reignite our relationship with Jesus and with each other.
Here at Shepherd, we have many opportunities before us so as to invite each other to return this season.
Each Wednesday night, we encourage our current small groups to continue gathering virtually. Small group leaders are contacting their small groups to determine the best platform for connection for each group. Want to be a part of a group? Email Pastor Aleese and she will assign you to a group and/or start another group based on interest.
But, it is also our hope that this resource (including the Scripture, questions, and prayer) is something that people find helpful in their own devotional use throughout the season as well. For that reason, you’ll always find our weekly Lenten resources on our website (linked below), and on our Facebook page. Not able to check in on a Wednesday? Check back here to find your next week’s materials.
Videos of each week’s Lenten Worship will be posted here and on Facebook. We encourage you to watch the video prior to your small group virtual gathering. The links to the video are below.
If you have any questions about the upcoming Lenten season, be sure to reach out to email Pastor Aleese. She is always more than willing to talk with you about your Lenten journey!
Blessings to you all, as you begin this sacred journey, and as together, we journey to Christ’s cross and resurrection.
Looking to engage in the same Evening Prayer service that we’ve been doing on Wednesday evenings? Click above and it will take you through the service, along with the Power Point presentation so you can follow along.
In the past few days, our news feeds have been spouting headlines about COVID-19. Day by day, even minute by minute, we have been finding ourselves reacting to an ever-changing reality. Here at SOTC, we have been attentive to the situation, and have been making decisions by stages.
To that end, following the CDC’s recommendations for mass gatherings that were published on the evening of Sunday, March 15, Pastor Aleese called a council meeting to determine our next steps forward. On Monday, March 16, our council met, reviewed the situation and recommendations of the CDC and state officials. In light of that discussion, the church council has voted to suspend all in-person activities at SOTC through Sun., April 12. This follows the proposed suspension of our local Muscatine Community School District.
To be clear, this decision was not made out of fear, and was not made as a reaction based on how other community groups are responding. Rather, this decision was made out of deep love for our neighbor – for those most vulnerable in our community at SOTC and for those most vulnerable in the greater Muscatine community. It was the decision of our council that it is at such a time as this that we must make the sacrifice of physically gathering together to benefit the greater population.
To that end, effective immediately, the building is closed to all members and visitors. Though we are aware that many may still be “well,” if we – as an organization – were to follow the recommendations laid before us from the CDC to maintain a clean/sanitized environment, it would simply be too much to expect of our paid staff and/or custodian to maintain. Pastor Aleese, Kathy (office manager) and our custodian will continue to have access as needed to the building. We will not be maintaining regular office hours; Pastor Aleese and Kathy will work only as is needed in the church building and will do much of their work remotely.
Though we will be suspending all in-person activities, THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT MINISTRY WILL STOP! Instead, based on a plan Pastor Aleese presented to council last evening, much of what we do together as a community WILL continue through virtual means. Look for a LiveStream video (on Facebook, later uploaded to our website) from Pastor Aleese later today outlining the 5 core areas that we are working on to ensure that we:
sustain the community that is here at SOTC
sustain the role/mission we have as a congregation in the greater community
We encourage all members to check their email for continued updates, and we encourage EVERYONE to frequently return to this website for continued updates. Bookmark our site and check it often! We will be developing various pages in the next few days to facilitate community, even if we cannot be physically together.
In short, a few immediate notes:
Worship will be held virtually on 9 am on Sundays. Although we cannot gather in our sanctuary, I ask us to gather together with each other across the community at a common time of prayer as is our current practice. Information pertaining to how to access our streamed worship service is forthcoming. You will receive an email update; also check back at our webpage and Facebook.
Offerings can be sent via mail. We are in the process of setting up an option for online giving and/or bank draft (hopefully by end of this week). Though our ministry will look different for the next few weeks, we stress that our ministry is NOT suspended. We need your support, even during these times.
Lenten small groups will also not meet in person; we are encouraging small group leaders to contact their groups to help facilitate a virtual meeting that is appropriate for each group.
It will be crucial for us to continue to interact together and build relationships, even if we are not in person. To that end, if you are not a part of a Lent Small Group, but would like continued support and contact with a small group from our congregation, please contact Pastor Aleese via email or cell. She will be either adding members to existing groups and/or creating more groups. It is the intent that these groups will not only continue with our Wednesday Lenten practice, but that these groups can be places for “check ins” (aka: sharing highs and lows) especially in the midst of much uncertainty around us.
Pastoral care needs are to be directed to Pastor Aleese. Text/call her on her cell phone ONLY (319-427-0600). Please do not contact the church office if you need to reach Pastor Aleese! Situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis to provide care. This also applies if you, or someone you know, is in need of food or other assistance.
All outside groups (Weight Watchers and Wonder Years Preschool) will also not be using the church building during this time.
All offsite gatherings (including Christians Underground) are also suspended.
Our church council will virtually meet during their regularly scheduled time on Monday, March 30, to reassess the situation.
In the coming days and weeks, you will receive information about how we will continue to live together – as SOTC, and as the greater Muscatine community. There is no question about it: we are living in an unprecedented time. However, that does not mean that we stop being the church. Though the ways we form faith and community in the next few weeks will look and feel different, we will not abandon the call to be the people God created us to be: people living on purpose for a purpose in the name of Jesus Christ.
So as we continue through Lent, let us continue to remember
that Christ is with us. Let us continue to focus on the cross, where Jesus
destroyed the power of death and gives us abundant life. And let us care for
one another as one in the body of Christ.
Shepherds, we uphold you in prayer, and we ask that you continue to uphold one another in prayer. We’re in this together, and we trust that Christ will continue to guide our ministry during this time.
John 3:1-21 | Ever felt as though God’s promises were great to hear, but hard to understand? Well, meet our good friend Nicodemus, who has similar trouble when he meets with Jesus at night. Looking for “answers,” he comes up dry. But after talking with Jesus, what he does recieve is an invitation: an invitation to trust Jesus, and an invitation to experience the depth of God’s love. Though we might find ourselves scratching our heads a bit when thinking about faith, and though we may not always understand the movement of the Spirit, Jesus’ invitation to us is the same – trust – no matter where the wind might blow.
Matthew 4:1-11 | Jesus found himself in the wilderness for 40 days and nights after his baptism. In that barren wasteland, Jesus was stripped of all modern comforts and was withheld even very basic needs. But, in that space, Jesus is emptied of all else that surrounds him, leading him to find what he needs most. For us, as we journey into the wilderness this Lent, the path ahead might not sound very appealing. But as we venture into the desert, we too, just might find what our hearts, our lives, and our world needs most: the very breath of God, providing for us, and protecting us.
Ecumenical Prayer and Lunch Looking for an opportunity to gather with others from the Muscatine community? Or, looking for a mid-day pause for prayer? The Muscatine Ministerial Association has organized a series of midweek prayer and lunch events at area churches. See the schedule on the bulletin board in the narthex.
MCSA Needs Lunch Servers Requesting help serving lunch on Thursdays starting February 27. Food will be provided and prepared; they simply need volunteers to serve. Volunteers arrive by noon, serve from 12:15-12:45, and wrap up by 1:00. This is not something new, but they are finding they need help to continue this service. Sign up in the narthex if you are able to help. Pastor Aleese can answer any questions.
Allen Family Meal Assistance Thank you to all who provided meals for the Allens. A sign-up sheet is in the narthex for the upcoming weeks. Kathy or Pastor can answer any questions.
On Ash Wednesday, once again we were invited by the prophet Joel to “return to the Lord your God with all your heart, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” (Joel 2:12-13). Along with the whole Christian church, we will be invited into the three traditional practices of Lent: prayer, fasting, and giving. For 40 days, we will be encouraged to recommit ourselves to our walk with Jesus; and in so doing, we will be encouraged to recommit ourselves to walk with each other.
But isn’t this invitation something that we should always be taking up as disciples of Christ? Are we not to daily re-turn to God with all our heart? Are we not to daily commit ourselves to journeying with Christ, and following his lead for our lives and for our world? And finally, are we not to daily commit ourselves to walking with our brothers and sisters in Christ as people of the same community?
It’s true; we ARE to engage in this kind of lifestyle and that IS who we are called to be as baptized children of God. So, yes. This “should” be something that is a part of our everyday walk of discipleship – not just something during Lent.
But, I don’t know about you, sometimes I need a bit of a “reset” to get back on track. Recently, when taking out my hairdryer one night at home, I found it wasn’t working. Turning it off and then on again, I thought it would work. Nope. Trying another appliance in the same outlet, that appliance seemed to work. I was confused. Sighing to myself, I figured that I just needed
to bite the bullet and get a new hairdryer. But then it dawned on me: press the reset button. (Admittedly, I’m embarrassed to think that it took me that long to figure that out!) And lo and behold, once I pressed the reset button, everything worked as it was supposed to again.
In the same way, I wonder if the season of Lent can act as the same “reset” button for us. I have a feeling that many of us “know” that we are to journey with Jesus, and to be attentive to the work of the Spirit within us. And we “know” that we are to journey with others, giving ourselves in community. But we’ve messed up. And in the midst of all that life can throw at us, sometimes we need a “reset” to get back on track. Not because we’re wholly broken, and not because there is no hope left. But we simply need to create (or re-create!) some practices that draw us closer to Christ and to those around us.
So simply, this Lent, that’s the invitation. Re-turn. Re-set. And come back. Not for punishment, but to find true and abundant life. For all of us, we’re coming from a different point on our journey. But this season, ALL of us are heading in the same direction: toward the cross and resurrection of Christ—the only place where we will experience true and abundant life.
So, this Lent, return. Take a look at what we are doing as a congregation, and challenge yourself to recommit yourself to journeying with Christ and with those around you. And as you do so, be on watch. For it may just be on this journey that you might discover Christ’s promise of love – for you, and for the world.
Matthew 17:1-9 | In our Gospel, we hear of the disciples’ encounter with Jesus on top of a mount as he is transformed before them. Today, we might not experience flashing lights and a grand display of God’s power, but there are still places that God shows up to us in powerful ways. So then what? We could be thankful for those moments and then just “move on.” But what Jesus asks of us? It’s to hold those encounters close, to allow it to transform us, and to be open to how it shapes our journey ahead as his people.
Matthew 5: 21-37 | In this portion of Jesus’ sermon on the mount, he points to the challenges of living life together with others. Just as messy as it is for us to live together with others today, it was the same back then. But even amidst the risk, and the demands that life together places upon us, Jesus points to community as the place where we find true and abundant life.
