Being the Church: We’ve Got This!

Announcements, Community

Dear Members and friends of FPCD,

Yesterday most likely you heard the strong request from President Trump and the national and international medical experts on the limiting of public gatherings to ten people. This limitation is necessary to curb the spread of Covid-19. Our staff and elders have been working on a plan to have a limited small gathering to lead worship on the next two Sundays, March 22 and March 29 by online live stream. We will follow the format of our normal worship service and invite you to go to www.fpcd.org and participate from home. Following are instructions on how to do that. 

To view our live stream, you may simply CLICK THIS LINK which will take you to the correct page for our live stream. If that is not working for you, please copy and paste the following into your web browser: www.fpcd.org/live-stream. Once you are on the web page, you will see a video box. Click the box, and the video will play. If you do not hear sound, please make sure that the volume on both your computer and the video itself is turned up. If you have any problems figuring this out, you may give Jennifer a call at (626) 755-8013 and she will do her best to help you remotely.

Staff will still be working normal business hours and the office will still be open. Please feel free to call or drop by (as long as you don’t bring over 7 friends!)

Please carry on with your small groups that are 10 people or less. How timely to have set that up just before all this happened! God is so well-aware of all our needs and He has led us and taken care of us. Also, any other groups, such as Women’s ministry groups can meet if you are 10 people or less. Men’s ministry might be bigger than 10 so you will need to talk about that. IN ALL OF THIS, PLEASE ATTEND ONLY IF YOU ARE HEALTHY, NOT HIGH RISK, AND ONLY IF YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE. PLEASE TAKE PRECAUTIONS OF NO HANDSHAKES AND HUGS, JUST SMILES. USE HAND SANITIZER AND CLEAN THE DOORKNOBS WITH ANTISEPTIC WIPES (which are in the sanctuary bathroom). We do not want to shrink back in fear and discouragement if we can meet, but we also want to be prudent and protect one another–and be good citizens.

As for Wednesday night dinner and Bible study, at this time we must cancel. However, if there are some of you who would like to hold the Conversations with God on Zoom, we will give it a try. Just let us know by WEDNESDAY (tomorrow) and we will get a trial run set up this week to try out next Wednesday, March 25. Also we will let you know about the Prayer Service on March 28th soon. 

In terms of giving, the church relies on your generosity to carry out our ministry here and to our missionaries in the world, and we plan to continue as normal in this respect. We have experienced how God has blessed us and continues to bless us financially because you all have given so faithfully. So you can give in several ways:

  1. Mail A Check to the Church
  2. Stop by the Church and drop off your check
  3. Give online through the website.
    You can do this either by going to our giving page –  fpcd.org/online-giving, or on the live stream page – www.fpcd.org/live-stream (under the video is a header that says “Give Online” and a yellow button that says “Donate”). Regardless of which page you go to, the instructions are the same.
    1. Click on the yellow “DONATE” button.
    2. Type in the amount of your gift.
    3. If you HAVE a PayPal Account
      1. Click the button “Donate to PayPal”
      2. Log into PayPal with your email address and password
      3. Select the way you want to pay (bank account, credit card, etc.). You can also click “+New Card” if you want to pay with a card not listed. Once you have chosen your payment method, click “Next.”
      4. On this next page, you have the option to designate your gift to a specific purpose. To do this, click “Add a Note” and type your designation into the box that appears.
      5. Verify all information on this page. If it is correct, click “Donate Now.”
  1. If you DO NOT have a PayPal Account
      1. Click “Donate with a Debit or Credit Card”
      2. You have the option to designate your gift to a specific purpose. If you would like to do this, click “Write a note (Optional).” 
      3. Fill in your credit or debit card information, billing address, and contact information.
      4. Click “Donate Now” at the bottom of the page.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have a PayPal account, you can also donate money through PayPal without fees.

    1. Go to www.paypal.com and click “Log In.”
    2. Enter your email address and password and click “Log In.”
    3. To the right of the PayPal balance box you will see a circle with the outline of money on it and an arrow pointing up that says “send” under it. Click this circle.
    4. The page that comes up will say “Send Money” with a box below it. Type the email address info@fpcd.org into the box and click “Next.”
    5. Type in the amount of your gift and make sure it says “Sending to a friend” below the amount. (If it says “Paying for an item or service” click “Change” and select “Sending to a friend.”)
    6. Click “Continue.”
    7. On the next page, choose how you would like to make payment and click “Next.” 
    8. Review your payment and if it is correct, click “Send Payment Now.” If it is incorrect, you have the opportunity to make changes before sending the payment.

Your donations will be processed by the tellers as assigned each week. We must continue to process donations with two people who count and make out the deposit slip and so the regular counting of such is important. Please coordinate with each other and Jennifer to set up a regular time to do this.

As we move through this new reality, let us remember that the LORD is with us just as much as ever. Psalm 46:1-3 says: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.” God is the one who opens and shuts doors, and let’s take courage and look for openings now because many people will begin to seek him and we need to be ready to speak of the great hope we have in Jesus.

Pastor Ginger

 

 

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