Dear friends,
Below you will find the service for our nightly Compline this week. When we started doing this brief nightly service in mid-March I thought it would last for a couple of weeks at most, and that we might have a handful of people participating. I was wrong on both counts. Tonight we enter our 15th week of coming together for a few minutes of prayer each evening. And it’s not just a handful of people who participate. We can have anywhere from 50 to 200 participants, which means we are reaching people far beyond our own congregation. To me one of the unexpected blessings of this strange time is how true community has formed through our online services and that people who may never walk through our doors have found a place to worship with us.
This is a friendly reminder that we continue to collect food for the Sandy Springs Pop Up Food Pantry. Last week our offerings filled Elise MacIntyre’s spacious trunk and back seat. But now the red wagon and narthex are empty. So if you’re going to the grocery store please pick up a few perishable items and drop them off at the church. There are bins by the front door. I visited both pantries last week and the workers said the same thing — that the number of people needing food has increased dramatically. They believe that is because the federal loans to small businesses to help pay employees has run out, and business has not yet picked up. That means more people are being laid off or getting pay cuts. Last Friday one of the pantries ran out of food and for the first time had to turn people away.
Yesterday we enjoyed Alexander Changus’ beautiful oboe. That’s not the only talent that Alexander has shared with us. Here he is wielding a mean pressure washer, cleaning all the sidewalks in front of the building. Thanks on both counts, Alexander!
See you tonight at 8.
