Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.
ON A TYPICAL SUNDAY MORNING, I would be awake by 6:45 am, showering, grabbing breakfast, preparing to leave for 8 am church services.
This morning I awoke a half hour later, followed the regular Sunday morning routine, then sat down at my computer to watch live-streaming of the Trinity Lutheran, Faribault, church service. I expect many of you did the same—utilizing technology for worship.
The original microphone used in 1948 for Trinity’s radio broadcasts on KDHL radio, Faribault. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.
Trinity has had a video ministry for years. And a radio ministry for more than seventy. I am thankful those outreach ministries were already in place, making it much easier to connect with people during this global pandemic.
Difficult times call for us to be creative and to adapt. Our family ministry leader also brought Sunday School to our kids in a YouTube video. Click here to view that.
From the Trinity, Faribault, Facebook page.
During the past week, I’ve worked, from my home, with a team that’s expanding Trinity’s ministry via social media. Daily uplifting and encouraging scripture has been added to our Facebook page. And our pastor is penning daily devotionals, which I am editing and proofing. I’m happy to use my talents to help.
At Warner Press, an Indiana-based Christian publishing company where I am the paid blog coordinator and a blogger, we’ve launched a weekly series, “Scriptures of Hope,” to encourage and uplift people during this COVID-19 crisis. I encourage you to check out that first post by clicking here. Members of our Warner Press family selected bible verses that carry them through difficult times, sometimes adding their personal insights. We are committed to doing our part, through our blogging ministry, to bring hope.
I’d like to hear from you. How are your faith families connecting and continuing their ministries? Together we can learn from and support each other. Now, more than ever, we need to share our ideas and to connect.
© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
You can see the response to the Covid-19 crisis for my church–the Church of St. Clement in Alexandria, Virginia, here:
https://www.saintclement.org/covid-19-resources
Thank you for passing this along from Virginia. I appreciate your taking the time to do this. Blessings upon you, your family and your faith family.
My wife started working for our churches, Shakopee and Prior Lake Friendship Churches, as the worship administrative assistant at the beginning of the new year. She, along with the church leadership have been learning how to get the message out via Facebook and YouTube. It has been on the job training for them all with many challenges. How does one replace the gathering together, and maintain many of the important ministries that cannot be done via a screen or phone. Our home bible study group also is searching for a way to stay connected and is looking to use Zoom to continue our study and our prayer time.
We’re praying this will be over soon, and that we will learn valuable lessons in not taking God’s blessings or our responsibilities as believers for granted.
May God bless and protect you
This is definitely a learning curve for those of us who did not grow up with technology. Yours is the third mention of Zoom, something which we may use in our immediate family to connect. Randy and I don’t have phones with enough storage space to support an app like google duo. Yeah, they’re really old phones.
Thanks for your closing prayer. The same to you and your loved ones and faith family.
My hubby’s elderly mother listens to Sunday service on a local closed circuit broadcast each Sunday at 10:00am. Since we don’t attend any church (for many very personal reasons) I didn’t know these alternatives were available. Pretty cool if it works for faith communities. We were a bit sad that she decided not to attend services anymore and only listen from the apartment. But, after attending services with her life long husband it was difficult for her to sit alone in church.
Prayers from here for all those in MN, our relationship to God is personal but can always be shared in times such as these.
I understand why you feel sad about your husband’s mom no longer attending services. She would likely benefit from that personal connection with her faith family. But I am thankful she still listens to services.
Thank you for your prayers for those of us in Minnesota. We are getting closer to a shelter-in-place, I think. The Governor is now self-quarantining as he’s been exposed.
It looks more and more like total lockdown worldwide. That sucks!!! But, when people can’t follow simple instructions by the health experts and our leaders what else can the do? I have been so busy with garden and preparing for total lockdown that I haven’t time to blog.Although there is a blog story around each corner that I turn here.
Sad that my mother in law suffers from early dementia and that makes her scared of going out in public. I have to laugh when I have a phone conversation with her. As her English is non existent and my Dutch is good enough but just when I get my answer out she is asking the same question again. I am sure God is being very entertained by my internal thoughts over those conversations.
I did see one of the street libraries here in my neighborhood and scored two Blondie CDs! I was so happy to donate from my many piles of English books I have. So much so I went to the house door and personality thanked the family who made and placed it on their property. Good things will come from all this I am sure!!!!
“Good things will come from all this I am sure!!!!!” We are already seeing that and I hold onto that as being the positive in the midst of all these challenges.
Stay well, my friend. I am way behind on blog reading due to trying to keep up with this blog and paying projects. That doesn’t mean I don’t care about all you blogger friends. I do.
Audrey, don’t worry about keeping up with my blog. I have been so busy I haven’t posted and only read with my coffee once or twice per day. It is the same from here, just because we don’t comment doesn’t mean we don’t care. I know that your blog along with a few others I follow are my lifeline daily long before this happened and now is even more critical to keeping focused on what is really important in life. Just from reading your blog I can gauge how things are in MN. That is a prayer answered as I worry so much about my friends in the rural areas of MN and how they will cope with this situation. Most are very resilient farmers so I know they will make it no matter what! But, those who live on the edge all the time and have very little wiggle room I really feel the pain that will come if this last months not weeks. Food shelves, thrift stores, and organizations that provide food and shelter to those who needed this prior to this chaos will need this even more now!!! Help is needed! Compassion for those who have less. Teach those who need a hand to fend for themselves and provide for their families. Teach a man to fish they will have an entire lifetime of food. Teach someone to bake bread also a lifetime skill. Teach someone to sew, knit, weave.
This is what I see from where I sit, it could get very bad and those of us with skills have a responsibility to help those who don’t. Love and prayers from here in The Netherlands.
You have such a generous and loving spirit. I love that about you, Paula.