April 13, 2020

Dear Friends in Christ

1. Hope you and your loved ones are doing as well as can be.
2. It has been a month now since we have been unable to worship in person at St. Peter’s. We do not know when regular public worship in churches will begin again, but eventually it will.
3. In spite of everything, the Easter season is a time of thanksgiving and praise to our good God who never abandons us. God has given us the ultimate gift of His Son Jesus Christ that you and I may have our sins forgiven and experience life forever with God.  We just need to believe it.
4. Please take some time, amid the constant stress of your life, and consider writing a thank you note to God for all His graces and blessings in your lifetime. Writing these out gets them from our head to our heart and onto the page.  When you’re done, just sit quietly and review your list.  You might want to say something to God, you might just want to enjoy the quiet sense of God’s presence remembered throughout your life.
5. Try to take the opportunity to phone, text, email or write to someone you want to thank. God sent this person into your life to help you, challenge you, support you or cheer you on to be your best self.  You might be that kind of person for someone else.
6. We can never overdo gratitude. In this time of ongoing tension and anxiety, please thank God every day for someone or something.  It will make a difference to getting through each day and this crisis as well as you can.

Love and prayers always

Coleen+

Rector, St. Peter’s Anglican Church

He is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Wow, what a relief!  Not even covid-19 can stop Jesus from rising from the dead.  Now and for eternity, we are assured of the forgiveness of our sins and our life forever with God.

In this time of ongoing fear and anxiety, we can only thank God that He raised Jesus from the dead.  Jesus has permanently destroyed the power of evil and fear to control our lives.  With all the negativity surrounding us, it’s hard not to be in a constant state of vigilance and even despair.

Yet we are believers in Jesus.  Yes, sickness and death are part of being human and will come to us and to our loved ones whether or not it is covid-19 related.  Our physical reality is the human condition.  Our spiritual reality is eternal life in Christ.

No matter what, the Risen Lord is with us.  He is with the front line hospital workers, doctors and nurses.  He is with First Responders and grocery store staff.  He is with all those who must work for us at this trying time.  He is with the sick and the dying even if we can’t be.  He is with all of us, all the time.

By the power of the Resurrection, Jesus has broken the bonds of sin and death.  As Romans 8:38,39 says, nothing – not even covid-19 – can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Experience the joy and hope of Easter.  Remember Jesus died for you.  Remember He is with you always.  Remember His eternal life gives us hope as believers.  Give thanks and praise His name.  For indeed, the Lord is good and His love is everlasting.

God bless you.

Coleen+

Rector, St. Peter’s Anglican Church