The COVID-19 pandemic has closed the doors of our and many other churches, but it has NOT closed our worship! We're currently using a conference call system that makes it possible for ALL people to join us, including people who don't access social media or other Internet options.
For Mother's Day 2020, we're holding a special worship in which moms will be the focus, the subject, and the star. The "sermon" time of this worship will consist of the brief testimonials people give about their moms. As we give our own witnesses and receive others', we expect to be blessed by reminders of the first and most profound woman of our lives. [We'd LOVE to hear your witness about your mom. If you want to offer one, please plan for it to last no more than 30 seconds so that we can hear from everyone who wants to speak.]
We will also pray and take communion, so a word about the latter: If you want to join us, all you need is something to serve as your "bread and cup." ANYTHING will do! Your bread might be a cracker, a cookie, or a piece of meat. As we said, ANYTHING! And your cup might be water, juice, or milk. Again, ANYTHING! What matters when we take communion is the attitude of our hearts, not the nature of the elements. Just be sure to have your "bread and cup" within reach for our worship.
TO ACCESS THIS WORSHIP - which is open to EVERYONE, not just people connected to FCCEM - follow these two simple steps:
- By 10:40 a.m. on Sunday, call 319-527-2705 (if you use a landline, you’ll need to dial a “1” before that number; cell phone users won’t have to add the “1”) We’ll begin promptly at 10:40 a.m. so please do what can to call in on time.
- The recorded voice that answers your call will ask you for an access code. At that point, enter 809985 followed by the # key. That's it! You may then introduce yourself to other callers... or not! You're free to remain silent from the moment you connect to the moment you hang up. [FYI, there is NO charge to callers or the church for the conference call.]
ONE ESSENTIAL DETAIL:
In our first use of the conference call service for worship - on May 3 - several callers had difficulty connecting to our call. In response, we've moved the start time of the worship by ten minutes, to 10:40 a.m. in hopes of avoiding some of the bottom of the hour congestion common in such services, AND we encourage you to start calling in by 10:25 a.m. in case you encounter difficulty. If you get a busy signal or error message, keep trying! It'll be worth it!