I know that, if you are like me, the mere mention of the Corona Virus (or Covid-19) probably has become like Castor Oil for your ears. Yet, still, here we are living in the shadow of this microscopic terrorist. Schools cancelled, many of our jobs suspended, the economy screeching to a halt, life for many of us has been interrupted to say the least.
For many of us, the one constant that has always existed (even in other uncertain times) has been the church. When 911 rocked the nation, when nature has left us reeling where did we run, where did we gather, where were we able to find solace? The answer for many of us has always been 'the church'. This is the very reason that making a decision to not meet physically at 2066 Deep River Rd this Sunday was so difficult. It is where not only the congregation wishes to run, but the staff and ministers as well.
As we have often said in sermons and lessons, God did not create us to do life alone. He made us to be people who live and worship in community. This is as true for us today as it has always been, we only face a different set of challenges in order to make it a reality.
This coming Sunday, we will gather not physically for our Worship service, but virtually. We have been working diligently, even before the Governor's first executive order was released, to be prepared to deliver the worship service to you. This coming Sunday, there
are three ways that you can live stream the service at 9 AM (Facebook, Vimeo, and the FCCHP Website). We have placed links to each of these venues on the FCCHP Homepage at www.fcchighpoint.org.
Each one of these live venues has attached a chat to allow you to not only communicate with us at the church, but also with your fellow members and attendees. Sunday mornings, are normally filled with Bible teaching and worship songs, but they are also filled with fellowship and the joy of gathering corporately. We want to provide you with as much of an opportunity for this fellowship as a virtual meeting allows.
As this week concludes and we prepare for what comes next, let me encourage you to reach out to one another. Make the phone call, send a card, write an email, shoot a text, make the effort. While we cannot gather together 200 strong under one roof, we can still be in community, we can still be the church, it just takes effort!
Special Notes & Information About Sunday
We have also had some folks ask us about gathering away from the church. If you would like to gather in small groups at one another's homes (much like Life Groups) to watch the worship service, partake of the Lord's Supper, sing and worship, discuss and study then we have no objections. We are simply attempting to do what the Word calls us to do, in being in submission to the authorities over us. If you wish to meet in small groups (they suggest less than 10) we have no objections.
Can I still watch the worship service if I miss the 9 AM live stream?
Sunday, following the conclusion of the live streaming worship service we will immediately begin work on placing the video online for you to view at a later time. The video will be available on the church Facebook page, the church Vimeo page, and on 'This Week's Worship' page found under the Resources tab of the church website. This video should be available no later than noon on Sunday.
Can I watch the worship service on my smart tv?
Yes & No.
There are two ways that you can watch the recorded worship service once we have uploaded it . I will detail these below. Some of you may ask if you can watch the live version on your smart tv. The answer really depends on your smart tv. You may be able to access the live feed by using your internet browser to go to the Vimeo or church website. However, I would highly suggest that you have a back-up device available if you did not join us Thursday Night to test that ahead of time.
If you have a smart television you should be able to download the Vimeo App. Through this App you can watch the worship service once it has been uploaded, but not live. Once you have downloaded the App search for FCCHP.
In addition, we have created a channel on FireTV for those that have the Amazon service. We will be uploading the sermon here as well. You can search in the app store for 'FCCHP' and download the app. Here you will be able to watch all of the recorded sermons we have created from the current sermon series. We are unsure about the upload time for the Amazon service, and it may be a full 24 hours before the video is available here.