A Letter to the Congregation of FRPC

To our church family at FRPC, grace and peace in the Lord Jesus Christ,

It has now been seven weeks since we have been able to gather as a body in corporate worship and fellowship together in all the activities we engage in as a church. We know these have been strange, trying and uncertain times, and no doubt, this is taking its toll on all of our hearts. We want to remind you that Jesus is still on his throne, and none of us in him are outside of his vision and care. He has not lost count of the hairs on our heads, nor has he released his firm grasp of us. 

If there is something that our current circumstances have confirmed for us, it’s that our hope is not in this world. In this world, there is confusion, trouble and uncertainty. But Christ has overcome the world! He is where our hope is found. The biblical concept of hope is always tied to Jesus, his return and the New Heavens and New Earth that he has promised and inaugurated in his resurrection. I suspect that all of us have grown in our groaning for this. Is it possible that the Church, as a whole, has never prayed for his return more than we have over the last several weeks? In this sense, may we praise God for our current situation. He has given us a greater desire for his New World.

But we do not know when Jesus will return, and so, with one eye to the sky, we plan for the time we pray is coming soon: when we will all gather together again for worship. We do want you to know that the elders are in regular communication and are weighing various options for what our worship will look like when we can come together again. When that time comes, we will be taking every precaution with regard to the spread of the virus, and we are developing procedures that will enable us to gather as safely as we can. We will have more details for you as we know more information.

For now, we can tell you that we are monitoring the orders coming from the Governor’s office and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Currently, they have implemented a “Red to Yellow to Green” plan to be enacted county by county. We do not have access to all the details, such as what qualifies a county specifically to go from “Red” to “Yellow,” but we we do know that a county must be “Yellow” for two weeks before being able to go “Green.” As we learned this week, neither Allegheny County, nor any of the surrounding counties, have been permitted to move to “Yellow.” This means that as of now, FRPC will continue to suspend our church services until at least late May.

We hope you are taking advantage of the various resources at your disposal. We have Zoom parish group gatherings, Zoom men’s and women’s book studies, daily blogs, youth podcast, Sunday podcast and Hebrews study. You can also visit this post to see other free resources at your disposal. All of these are wonderful aids for your weekly personal devotion and Sunday worship at home. 

Until we are together again, we want to encourage you to stay the course of social distancing, staying home as much as possible, and wearing masks when you go out. Your elders will continue the practice of reaching out to you regularly. If you have any needs or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact a pastor, elder or deacon. 

Lastly, we want you to know that we miss seeing you and being with all of you. It is our great desire that we can all be together again very soon. The Lord is with us and we will weather this storm together. 

Blessings in Christ,

Your Brothers, Session of FRPC