Hi Church,

There is a lot going on these weeks in the world and at COTC! In times like this the truth that Jesus is our Good Shepherd, sovereignly over all things and guiding us through them, is especially important to me.

One thing I wanted to let you know about is that in the coming months Sarah, Kimberly, and I would love to meet with you. Just over a year ago we scheduled out pastoral visits with every household in the congregation. These were opportunities to simply be together and also reflect and pray. These were such a joy and reminded me of how integral face to face time is to the work of being a pastor and for the flourishing of the church. I can't wait to do this again.

In the coming weeks you'll be receiving an email from one of us about scheduling a time that we can come by. Prior to the visit will also send out a few questions for you to reflect on and to guide our time. Depending on the pandemic levels these visits might be outside and socially distant. Regardless, it will be so good to see and be with you.

Over the past months Mike Field has been working hard on putting together a church directory. We wanted to give you a final opportunity to make sure your information is correct. You can find a file for the directory here. If your email address is included in the directory you have access to see and update your information. If you don't have access that means either your information is not in the directory or you don't have a google account linked to your email address. If that's the case and you'd like to be included or to make sure your info is correct you can email Mike here.

In the document you'll see that there are slots for address, phone number, email address, as well as for various members of a household including children's names and birthdates. A "p" in the first column means we don't have a photo of y'all for the directory. Should you want a photo included you can also email Mike. We're on the home stretch with this and hopefully we can finish up in the next little bit!

With the coronavirus situation being what it is we're making a change this week to our nursery care. Instead of our regular Seeds and Seedlings set up we'll have toys available in the back boardroom and a TV streaming the service. If nursery aged children need to come out of the service parents will be able to take them back there and still remain connected to the service. There won't be volunteers and childcare workers available for nursery. This shift in nursery reflects the reality that the pandemic has affected availability of workers and volunteers. Also, as kids this age cannot be vaccinated we're hopeful that this will help minimize risk of transmission among households. Sprouts and Roots will continue as they have but both will be outside this week. We'll reassess the situation next week. As ever, thanks for your patience and flexibility! If you have any questions or concerns don't hesitate to reach out.

Grace and peace,

Peter+