Category Archives: Worship

Wednesday Evening Communion

We have a Zoom meeting scheduled for the Wednesday Evening Communion Service at 6:00 p.m. Here are the details:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://bit.ly/38bf9qZ
Meeting ID: 937 0998 7388
Password: 67410

One tap mobile
+13462487799,,93709987388#,,,,0#,,67410# US (Houston)
+16699006833,,93709987388#,,,,0#,,67410# US (San Jose)

Dial by your location
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 937 0998 7388
Password: 67410

Please note that I have set up separate meetings for the Communion Service and the Bible Study on the Gospel of Luke.

Worship Reservations (July 12, 2020)

The church building is open for in-person worship on Sunday Mornings. In order to better love one another, we’re continuing to practice social distancing, wear masks, and take reservations. (The reservations also help us make room for everyone who shows up.)

You can request reservations for next Sunday, July 12, 2020, here:

Link: https://forms.gle/sukFTJW6ddSyZJSNA

The service will continue to be available online—indeed, we intend to continue to make improvements.

A Word About The Worship Service

Because it’s not safe to sing when we’re gathered together, we’ve made some changes to the order of worship. We’ve dropped the number of hymns to two. (The words are printed in the bulletin, so that people at home can sing along—we’re trying to stick to familiar hymns to make that easier.) In order to make up for the congregational participation we lost in taking out the hymns, we’ve added a Psalter (a reading from the Psalms) and often a unity prayer of confession. We’re keeping the creed and the response to the creed the same every week in the hopes that those at home who don’t have a bulletin available can more fully participate.

Wednesday Evening Communion

We have a Zoom meeting scheduled for the Wednesday Evening Communion Service at 6:00 p.m. Here are the details:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://bit.ly/38bf9qZ
Meeting ID: 937 0998 7388
Password: 67410

One tap mobile
+13462487799,,93709987388#,,,,0#,,67410# US (Houston)
+16699006833,,93709987388#,,,,0#,,67410# US (San Jose)

Dial by your location
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 937 0998 7388
Password: 67410

Please note that I have set up separate meetings for the Communion Service and the Bible Study on the Gospel of Luke. The old link for Wednesday evening activities will no longer work.

Worship Reservations (July 5, 2020)

The church building is open for in-person worship on Sunday Mornings. In order to better love one another, we’re continuing to practice social distancing, wear masks, and take reservations. (The reservations also help us make room for everyone who shows up.)

You can request reservations for next Sunday, July 5, 2020, here: forms.gle/SbErGzcAEm6BHFAR7.

The service will continue to be available online—indeed, we intend to continue to make improvements.

Wednesday Evening Communion

We have Wednesday evening Holy Communion tomorrow (Wednesday, June 24, 2020) at 6:00 p.m. Because Jenny and I are supposed to be on vacation, we won’t have Bible Study.  The meeting information is below.

Join Zoom Meeting by Computer/Tablet/Smartphone
https://bit.ly/2Wdiguc
Meeting ID: 918 7453 9985
Password: 67410

Join by Phone
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 918 7453 9985
Password: 67410

My Semi-Vacation is Working

Good news everyone! My semi-vacation is working. It has unstuck my brain enough that I figured out a tweak to make the sound for next week’s service sound better. I also think I’ve found a good compromise for our “internet congestion” issue (which is interrupting our live streaming). However, this one comes with cost. The cost is that I’m going to drop the resolution of the livestreaming video while maintaining the resolution on the recording that is uploaded to vimeo.com/abilenefirstumc later. This should allow you to watch the livestream without interruption and/or watch the recording in higher definition.

Reservations for Worship (June 28, 2020)

The Church Council approved opening the church building to in-person worship. In order to better love one another we’re continuing to practice social distancing, wear masks, and take reservations.

You can request reservations for next Sunday, June 28, 2020, here: https://forms.gle/VSp9Wb1aMv2coSE87.

The service will continue to be available online—indeed we intend to continue to make improvements.

The policy the Church Council adopted is as follows:

  • Reservations will be needed and by this method names and addresses will be obtained for contact tracing. Reservations will be received on a first come, first serve basis. A few spaces in the Sanctuary and Wright Fellowship Hall will be kept open for those unaware of the need for reservations who show up. Their contact information will be obtained when they arrive. 
  • Whichever service (8:15 or 10:30) has more reservations will be held in the Sanctuary, the other in Fellowship Hall.
  • Those who feel ill are asked to stay at home. Temperatures taken when congregants arrive. No one with a temperature that persists at 100.1 or above is allowed remain.
  • With the exception of those under the age of two, everyone in attendance will wear masks. Those speaking or leading worship will temporarily remove theirs for the sake of the deaf and hard of hearing. The song leader will wear a mask while singing. Others should sing along silently or under their breath.
  • Participants will leave at least 18 feet between the pulpit and lectern and the first row of the congregation. The same principle shall apply in Wright Fellowship Hall.
  • Participants will leave at least 12 feet (at an angle) between the pulpit and lectern and the piano playeron the sanctuary floor. The angle should prevent the liturgist and preacher from facing the the piano player. The same principle shall apply in Wright Fellowship Hall.
  • All participants are to maintain a social distancing of six feet from one another, with the exception of those living in the same household.
  • For safety’s sake, no nursery will be provided.
  • The same principles will apply for funerals, weddings, and any other event held in the church.