Port Ann Wesleyan Sunday blog service: March 22, 2020

We welcome you to our makeshift service-from-a-distance experience for Sunday morning, March 22, 2020.

Obviously, the coronavirus-induced quarantine has impacted our ability to meet in person this morning, but we can still worship right where we are, and we encourage you to check out the various updates, special message and song shared below.

Please be patient as we learn new software and work out the bugs in this process.

First, we’d like to share Pastor Paul Sheets’ announcements for today, relayed via a video he recorded on Saturday:

We ask you to continue blanketing the whole virus situation with prayer … including those connected to our congregation who work in a variety of medical and personal care fields: Deb Angelo, Ned Campbell, Abby Faulhaber, Nicole Hoover, Beth Jordan, Russell Jordan, Brittany Keister, Brooke Keister, Joleen Keister, Wanda Keister, Barry Kuhns, Ryan Long, Sarah Russell, Jerry Rute, Tasha Rute, Jason Shaffer, Crystal Shambach, Ruth Smith, Michael Sprenkel and Starla Wagner.

Among some of the other recent prayer needs within our congregation, Chris Keister’s shoulder surgery has been postponed until later in April, Yvonne Kern recently had successful cataract surgery in both eyes, and we continue to remember the long list of ongoing needs including (but not limited to): Candy Mitchell, Jason and Jeremy Kratzer, Jim Mulaney and others. If you would like to provide updates on current requests or add new prayer needs, contact Pastor Paul Sheets at the parsonage at 570-837-3188. You can also email him directly by clicking here.

Another situation to remain prayerful over is the ongoing construction and improvements at our church, provided through the hard work and sacrifice of several of our church members. You’ve seen the progress they have made, and Pastor Paul Sheets gives a special sneak peak at the newest project on-scene as Bob Smith and Herb Shaffer tackle our new flooring:

Pulling this morning’s lesson video turned out to be trickier than expected when it came to processing and editing the video. Unfortunately, I (John Zaktansky) was not able to edit the main message video using Adobe Spark or other programs like I had hoped despite numerous efforts. We will find ways to clean this up for future episodes.

So, Pastor Paul’s message is here in raw video form … the few awkward moments would have been edited out (like my Chewbacca ringtone). You will also hear Bob Smith and Herb Shaffer hard at work in the background. Thanks for being patient and understanding through this learning process.

Also, Pastor Paul provides an object lesson in the middle of the video. There are four photos that go with that object lesson that were going to be woven into the feed, but that didn’t work out, either. Here are the four photos, and then the video session from Pastor Paul.

Again, thanks for your patience and grace through this process. Please continue to shine God’s light through this time of darkness within our communities. For those who may have missed Wednesday night’s online youth group lesson from this past week, you can catch up by clicking here. Continue to check out the Port Ann Wesleyan Facebook page and pawchurch.com website for updates as we move forward.

In closing, Pastor Paul would like to share the following song, titled “Psalm 46: Lord of Hosts” by the group Shane and Shane: