O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look

favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred

mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry

out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world

see and know that things which were cast down are being

raised up, and things which had grown old are being made

new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection

by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus

Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity

of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP Good Friday)

Bishop Robert Wright said that justice is love overthrowing everything that is not love. In fact, God works through the church to raise up those things that are cast down and to raise up those things which had grown old. It is difficult to read the realities that lie behind the curves ahead, but we go forth in the conviction that the Holy Spirit will guide us in the days to come, as we experience unparalleled change.

During this time of separation from the Holy Eucharist and from human contact, from our friends and family, many of you have drawn closer to God through Morning Prayer, reading scripture, prayers, service to others, and staying in contact with others through social media. But human contact is a necessary part of our existence and we long for the day that we will be together again with our family and friends at St. Johns.

Bishop Provenzano has appointed a task force to help us plan a safe resumption of our liturgy at St. John's. We have received their guidelines and are ready to plan an opening date for services at St. John's. This will not be an easy task. We have already seen a resurgence of Covid19 when people get back together again. We will need to have our own task force and I hope you will prayerfully consider being a part of it. This week, we will send out a survey for your preferences in opening the church. I ask that you put the safety of others as our top priority. Because of this, the Diocesan task force has asked that their be no celebration of the Eucharist and no live singing by the congregation in phase two. Maybe we could continue our Eucharist at 10:00 with music on zoom and Facebook Live for a few more weeks and offer Morning Prayer on Sundays. The St. John's task force will interpret the data from the survey and create safety guidelines for opening back up. As we reach the fourth stages of opening up, we will resume the Eucharist and live singing in church.

One of the real benefits of this pandemic has been our ability to pray together through social media. I urge you to join us for morning prayer or Sunday services. Alex has done a marvelous job with Leslie, Ken, Noelle, and George at recording your favorite hymns. Alex and Christine have offered concerts every Sunday at 11:30 that have raised over 15,000 to help those in need in our community.

We have hired three tech interns to support St. John's ministry through Technology. They are here to help you worship and connect through technology at St. John's. Samantha Burns, Jennifer Low, and Jack Glicker are producing a podcast called, "Spirituality on Tap" for young people and youth. In these weekly discussions they will address different topics of importance to a diverse group of young people, interviewing guests and experts to explore those things that are on the hearts and minds of the youth today. Next week, they will tackle racial reconciliation through interviews from our Sacred Ground folks. To listen to this week’s audio podcast on their experience with Covid19, click on the Sound Cloud link:

https://soundcloud.com/samantha-burns-617075477/spirituality-on-tap-1

Equipment - If you are need of a device to participate in online services and meeting, please let us know.

Support - If you have difficulty joining any online service or meeting and you would like some help, give the Parish Office a call at 631-427-1752 or email tech@stjohnshuntington.org. One of our interns will give you a call back to help you resolve the issue.

In Christ's Love,

Fr. Duncan