Newsletter – March 14, 2020

This Sunday’s Service

There has been much thought and discussion regarding how best to conduct this Sunday’s Service.  The direction from Devalokam and our diocese has been to heed the advice of the local authorities and do what is necessary for safety.  On Friday, the President declared this pandemic a national emergency.  State and Local officials have called for limits on large gatherings and for implementation of social distancing based on the infection rate being witnessed in our area.  

Consequently, it is necessary for us to be socially responsible and make  adjustments to our Sunday services.  Though we could conduct Holy Qurbana with limited participation, this would not serve the majority of our community at this time.  Many of our members are unable to attend services due to health and safety concerns.  So, we will not be conducting Holy Qurbana this Sunday.  

Instead, we will be having a Sunday prayer service that will be available to all our members to join through phone and internet. 

Our Online Prayer Service will begin at 10am Sunday Morning and include prayer, bible readings, devotional message, and intercessory prayer.  

A decision on the Mid-Lent Service (Tuesday, March 17th) has not been made yet.  

If anyone is feeling overwhelmed or discouraged, feel free to contact Vijay Achen to talk.  If you have any question/concerns or you are in need of help, please contact our secretary, Robin Mathew (732-543-4621)

PARISH CALENDAR – https://sbgocnj.org/resources/parish-calendar/

Join the Online Prayer Service Line by: 
Dial-in number (US): (857) 799-9809
Join the online meeting: https://join.freeconferencecall.com/sbgoc
Online meeting ID: sbgoc
For additional assistance connecting to the meeting text “Help” to the Dial-In number above. Message and data rates may apply.

Please use this same call-in information to join for our Saturday Evening Prayer at 7pm.

ONLINE PRAYER SERVICE SCHEDULE: 
Saturday, March 14th at 7pm 
Sunday, March 15th at 10am 

Join the Online Prayer Service Line by: 
Dial-in number (US): (857) 799-9809
Join the online meeting: https://join.freeconferencecall.com/sbgoc
Online meeting ID: sbgoc
For additional assistance connecting to the meeting text “Help” to the Dial-In number above. Message and data rates may apply.

If possible, join through the online meeting to get full access to the video and screenshare content.

REQUESTS FOR WRITTEN DEVOTIONAL MESSAGES 

It is important that we keep focus on Christ during this difficult time. Thus, we would like to utilize our new website to post devotional messages written by our members. 

If you would like to contribute, please email Vijay Achen – vicar@sbgocnj.org