COVID Update and Encouragement | August 2021

Jeremiah Fyffe   -  

Greetings CrossPointe Coast | Pineda,

I want to share an update and encouragement with the church, especially during the rise of COVID cases in our Brevard County in recent days.

Shortly after the widespread availability of the COVID-19 vaccines, the CPCoast elders adjusted or removed our mask and capacity restrictions. It has been our guidance to “continue to use wisdom and caution according to your household’s needs.” We wanted to communicate again that the greatest factors in our decision-making regarding how we gather as a church have been the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine and a trust in the congregation’s households to exercise wisdom at the household level. This trust in the faithfulness and responsibility of the households at CPCoast and the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine remain the two primary factors in our decisions at present. And so, we continue to respond to Christ’s call and provision for the church’s gathering by maintaining Sunday Celebration Service, Community Groups and other means of gathering throughout our week.

That said, there is a rising capacity crisis in our area hospitals. There are not enough rooms, beds, doctors, nurses, staff and first responders to adequately meet the various health needs of our county given the recent influx of new COVID patients.

We want to remind everyone of the following steps we have taken:

  • The link to the live stream is available each Sunday for those who are quarantined. Simply text Joyce Repp at (321) 622-0304 and she will send you the link.
  • You are welcome (though not required) to wear a mask in any of our services or gatherings.
  • We have hand sanitizing stations available and encourage frequent hand washing.

In response to this crisis in the hospitals and first response teams, we would call the congregation to be the church that Christ has made us in the way Christ has instructed us in three specific ways:

1. Prayer Together: There is much suffering, worry, confusion and fear in our community today. Our Lord has given us such a merciful response to this real anxiety: The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:5–6). Let us make our suffering, our trials, and the hardship of our county known to the Lord with a prayer of gratitude. For, the Lord is already with us. He is at hand. He will bless us, and he will keep us.

2. Love One Another: Consider these selected “one another” passages.

  • Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10)
  • Serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13)
  • Carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
  • Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:32).
  • Encourage one another daily (Hebrews 3:13)
  • Don’t grumble against each other (James 5:9)
  • Confess your sins to each other (James 5:16)
  • Pray for each other so that you may be healed (James 5:16).
  • Offer hospitality to one another (I Peter 4:9)
  • Fellowship with one another (I John 1:7)

Now consider Colossians 3:16–17: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. There is a way of life into which Jesus has brought us. It is the way of a family together. It is beautiful, and it requires faith and sacrifice.

Specifically, I ask this question: How can we practice these specific scriptures at this moment in which we live? Focus on just two or three of these scriptures and ask the Lord to give you the wisdom and grace to apply them today.

3. Hospitality Together: There are people in your neighborhood or school or workplace who do not have family nearby, or are not a part of a church family like you have at CPCoast, but need help right now. Reach out to them. Ask your CG to join you in bringing some meals. Offer to pick up prescriptions or groceries. (*) I am confident that if you seek the Lord in this, he will show you, your household, your CG and others how we can continue to partner together to point our community to Jesus Christ.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, church!

See you Sunday for Celebration Service and the CPKids Rollup Party!

Jeremiah Fyffe with the Pineda Congregational Elders

 

* 2021-08-14 11pm: We removed the sentences: “If you are vaccinated, and the person is sick, consider offering practical help at their home. If the parents are sick but kids are well, take the kids to a park to run off their energy.” These sentences mistakenly communicate that there is no risk of either contracting or spreading COVID by vaccinated persons. Unfortunately, particularly in light of the DELTA variant, this is not the case. If you are exposed to a COVID positive person, we encourage you to exercise additional caution.