1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
How much longer can this pandemic go on, and the church survive? They let liquor stores open, but not churches. Are we being especially hurt by this?
Dear Church Family,
I get questions like this every week. How about you? What do you answer?
I have found myself saying things like these:
God won’t let this go on any longer than He wants to. He could kill the coronavirus today, if He wanted to. Why does He let it go on? He must be waking some people up? I know I’m more awake!
It’s a wicked world, let’s get out of here! When Jesus comes, we will!
When I was a younger pastor, we were reflecting on the persecution of Christians in Communist China. The ‘Bamboo Curtain’ had been lifted, and Christians went looking for how the church had done during this time.
They found that, although Christian leaders had been locked up, the membership had increased. There were more Christians than before.
Pastor H.M.S. Richards was an evangelist of many years and well respected. At that time he said, “It seems if you want the church to grow, you ought to lock up the pastors!” I remember that answer because I didn’t think I wanted to ever be locked up! But, he made a good point: What was meant for bad, turned out to not hurt in the long run.
Something to think about.
Pastor Albert
24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Jude
Due to the contagious COVID-19, church is closed until it is safe to open.
If you need groceries, other supplies, or other types of assistance, please don't hesitate to contact your church family in regards to how we can help you.
Carpet: The carpet has been cleaned and sterilized. Today I opened the doors and let it finish drying out. Several places now look much better than they used to! I’m glad we did it.
Complying: We have been rather busy complying with the County of Los Angeles’ requirements for allowing people to attend church in person. We have only heard from a few that will be attending in person, but we had to get ready for them as though many were coming. It may be that more will come in the following, successive Sabbaths so we had to get ready.
Meeting on ‘Zoom’: We will continue our teleconferencing for (probably) some time to come. The invitation is still below in the “Ongoing” section.
Communicating: There follows a letter that was ‘ghost written’ by our headquarters, The Southern California Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists. It was written for me to use as my own, and saves me a lot of time and effort. Furthermore, this letter and it’s announcements are part of our complying with the County Health Department to notify you what you are to expect if you should attend.
I have only inserted four things as I was instructed to, in order to reflect what we are able to do here.
Dear Church Member,
We are planning on having our first in-person church service tomorrow, June 6, 2020. While we very much look forward to in-person worship, we all know that the COVID-19 virus emergency is far from over, and we all want to resume services while protecting each other and our extended family as much as possible.
With that in mind, as we resume in-person services, we will be doing so with multiple safety measures in place. As time goes on, modifications will be made to our measures, and we will keep you informed as these occur.
Summarized below are some of these measures:
The most important measure to help avoid virus spread is each of us individually. As you hopefully are aware, public health officials believe approximately 35% of virus transmittal has occurred from individuals with no symptoms of the virus. Given that, the best control we have is for each of us to assume we are carrying the virus and that we do not want to pass it on. If we can each think in these terms and stringently follow social distancing guidelines, the risk of transmission is far less.
If you or a member of your family unit has had fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea within 10 days of the church service, we are asking that you do not attend and take advantage of online services.
Upon arrival at the church, per California guidelines, there will be temperature check done. If you or a member of your family has a fever of 100.4 or over, you will be asked to return home and take advantage of online services.
California Stay-at-Home orders recognize the risk to vulnerable populations. These populations are defined by the CDC as individuals who are 65 years and older; live in a nursing home or long-term care facility; people of all ages with underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled, including: people with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma, people who have serious heart conditions, people who are immunocompromised, people with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis, people with liver disease. Since we want to help assure you and your family are safe, if you or a member of your cohabitating family unit fall within the definition of the vulnerable populations, we are encouraging you to continue to not attend in-person services at this time.
Per California State Guidelines, the maximum number of people that are allowed to attend are the lessor of 25% of the capacity of the sanctuary up to a maximum of 100. We are asking you to notify us of your plans to attend by email or phoning the church office (310/541-1819) no later than Friday afternoon along with the number of people from your family that will be attending so we can adhere to these guidelines. We are having Sabbath School Class at 10 a.m. and Worship at 11:00 a.m.
When you arrive, the parking lot will have markings to guide you in parking in such a way where there is one empty parking space between each car.
Each of your family members must wear a mask at all times with the exception of children under age 2 and individuals with breathing difficulties.
Wash and/or sanitize your hands upon arrival (sanitation stations will be available) and any time after you move around, use the restroom, etc.
Fixed receptacles will be provided for offering, as offering plates will not be passed. You are also encouraged to continue to give your tithe and offering online via Adventist Giving.
While we all enjoy and are blessed by these activities, gathering at the front of the church for prayer, children’s stories, etc., will not occur at this time.
Please be conscious to minimize touch to surfaces while at the church.
There will not be children’s programming available. All children must be in direct supervision of their parents or guardian at all times.
There will be visual cues as to where you are not to sit in the sanctuary. At all times, while entering the sanctuary, moving around, etc., keep a minimum of six feet between you and others with the exception of your cohabitating family group. Please be careful to not sit in a pew in such a way as to force other attendees to go past you to sit in that pew.
Upon dismissal, continue to be mindful of the six-foot social distancing guidelines until you are back in your vehicle.
We are all looking forward to meeting in person. Let’s do everything we can to keep each other safe as we do so!
ONGOING:
Programs:
1. Daily: 100 Days of Prayer: This is a World Church call to prayer. By email, once per day, I get a reminder to pray, scripture promises to claim, a devotional thought, and the opportunity to join others in prayer and fellowship. If you are looking for a daily devotional this is a great place to start. To begin, and sign up: http://www.revivalandreformation.org/100days
2. Daily: Rolling Hills Church Prayer Call: Tuesdays – Sundays, 1:00 p.m. / Mondays 12:00 noon, we join the “Weekly SCC Prayer Call” (See the next paragraph for participation information).
3. Weekly: Mondays: “Weekly SCC Prayer Call” 12 Noonwith the Southern California Conference Prayer, Spirituality and Renewal Team. To participate call (435) 777-2200. When asked, enter the identification number: 202077# There is always a special devotional, testimonies and prayer requests are fielded. Janet Lui can answer questions: (310) 963-2578 Helpful commands:
*5 = ‘Raising your hand’ to ask permission to chime in.
*6 = To mute or unmute your phone
*86 = Increase speaking volume
*87 = Decrease speaking volume
4. Weekly: Mondays: Women’s Ministry Group: Host, Janet Lui, “Please Invite other women that you think might like this time of fellowship, devotional and prayer. Open to all women.” Mondays, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Pathfinders: Sabbaths: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Specific Zoom, or FaceTime contact information will be provided directly to the Pathfinder Parents based on individual classes.
6. Weekly: Wednesdays and Sabbaths: ‘Zoom’ Services: Our Mid-Week Bible Study is full of fellowship and prayers. Our Sabbath Morning Adult Lesson (10 a.) and Homily (11 a.) We share our highs and lows, viewpoints, scripture promises, and pray requests. Here is the connection information. Please note the password (it is our address, plus the number 7)
Topic: Rolling Hills Adventist: Mid-week Prayer Meeting Time: Wednesdays 7:00 p.m. Topic: Rolling Hills Adventist Church: Sabbath Morning Time: Sabbaths, 10 a. & 11 a. Online:https://zoom.us/j/6579293321?pwd=VksvMFFBMVQxeStjQkpDMEd5ZGR0QT09 Telephone: (253) 215-8782 or (301) 715-8592 Meeting ID: 657 929 3321 Password: 283407
Announcements:
Southern California Conference COVID 19 Relief Fund (Quoted from a Letter to Churches):
The Southern California Conference recognizes the financial strain that work restrictions have placed on many people throughout the conference as a result of COVID-19 shelter-in-place recommendations. In an effort to provide financial assistance to those most in need, the Southern California Conference would like to ask you to partner with us as, together, we grow a financial assistance fund that will help those who need it most at this critical time. This relief fund is intended to assist members who can demonstrate that, as a direct result of COVID-19, they have experienced a loss of income from the following: Job Loss; Job Furlough or Reduced Work Hours.
Contributions to this fund can be made through the Adventist Giving website (see below).
Financial Help: The Church Board has set aside funds to help those in our church family who have been financially impacted by the pandemic. If you would like to receive such help, please contact one of the Elders directly (Betsy Adams, Raymond Barnes, Janet Barnhill, Janet Lui, Dahlma Osborne), or call me, Pastor Albert, at the Church Office. There are details and a process so that this will be confidential and smooth.
Reach Your Pastor: I am forwarding the church phone (310/541-1819) to my home phone (424/206-2949) and though it often has bad reception you can call my cell phone (626/826-8448) or text me. Email works, too: albertfrederico@gmail.com
It Is Written Online Meeting:
It Is Written will conduct a virtual, online evangelistic event starting April 17 that will reach all of North America. Over 600 churches have joined with us in online advertising, and thousands have already registered for the meetings.
The month-long series, entitled Revelation Today: Hope Awakens, will feature Pastor John Bradshaw and present the prophetic message of the Bible while speaking to hearts burdened by anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. The interactive meetings will be viewable on mobile devices and online. Individuals are encouraged to register for the series at hopeawakens.com.
I encourage you to write a thoughtful note to your friends and family inviting them to join!
Online Giving: did you know you can return your tithes and offerings online? Adventist Giving enables us to return our tithes and offerings online easily.Go to Adventist Giving
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
Jesus, as quoted by His friend, John,
in Revelation 3:11
