SABBATH ANNOUNCEMENTS & REMINDERS

North Canton & Youngstown, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; Wheeling, WV Congregations

United Church of God, an International Association

October 17, 2020    

Due to confirmed cases of COVID-19 at several Feast sites, we will, as we had planned, 

forgo in-person services this Sabbath and have live local webcast services at 2 PM.

Link: https://www.ucg.org/congregations/north-canton-oh/webcast.

2:00 p.m. local webcast -> https://www.ucg.org/congregations/north-canton-oh/webcast

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NEXT WEEK

(may be subject to change)

Friday, October 23	Friday night Bible study webcast – 7:30 PM (EDT) – Mr. Randy Stiver https://www.ucg.org/congregations/north-canton-oh/webcast
Sabbath, October 24	Services in-person – Usual times and places

 

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Pastor’s contact information:  2206 Eastwood Ave. NE, Massillon, OH 44646. Home phone: 330-809-0566, Cell phone: 740-739-7248

Email addresses: randy_stiver@ucg.org  or rpstiver@gmail.com (both come to the same location). 

Scheduling: To my email for church events, visits or counseling, and please copy my wife Linda ldstiver@gmail.com. 

Announcements: Please send to my email and copy to Amanda Stiver at anstiver@gmail.com as she helps process them each week.

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PASTOR’S NOTE

Greetings brethren,

God's wonderful Feast of Tabernacles was a spiritual high point for all of us! And now we look forward to a winter of positive spiritual learning and growth. The Feast is like that—a powerful planter and irrigator for our spiritual growth!

Our family had many interesting fellowship and learning experiences at the Feast in Rapid City, South Dakota. We saw many old friends from years past in God's Church and made a number of new friends in the true faith. By Feast's end we were energized, but also looking forward to coming home to all of you.

I hope each of you captured some inspiring, spiritual lessons during the sermons, Bible Studies and sermonettes you heard (in person or by webcast), and that you too are looking forward to rereading those passages of Scripture.

We're all eagerly looking forward to getting back to our local church services, swapping good Feast stories, and encouraging and being encouraged by each other.

Let's look forward to a solid winter of spiritual growth in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. The Bible is a big book and winter is a valuable time to concentrate on reading a good share of it.

Have a wonderful week coming up and may God bless your health...spiritual and physical!

With love in Christ,

Randy Stiver, Pastor

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1.       LOCAL PRAYER REQUESTS and UPDATES

(If you notice that your prayer request needs updating, please drop us an email or a call with an update. Thank you!)

Update:

• Steve Richmond (Cambridge) – Steve is still fighting an ongoing battle with cancer. He was able to attend for two days at the Feast site in Berlin, and this Friday he moved to live with his daughter near Toledo. He would appreciate it if brethren could stay in touch since at his new location there are few church brethren nearby. 

His new mailing address:  12865 Five Point Rd.  Lot 170, Perrysburg, OH  43551

On-going:

• John Williamson (Husband of Lisa Williamson, son-in-law of Louis and Carol Petit in North Canton) – Battling Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and going through an allogenic stem cell transplant (donated from John’s brother). A very serious procedure, please pray that it goes well and that God shows John mercy, love, and complete healing.
• Joe Szymkowiak (North Canton) – Ongoing challenges of treatment for congestive heart failure.
• Covid-19 – Please keep the health of all our brethren in your prayers, especially those exposed to Covid at the Feast.

2.      ACTIVE COVID CASES FROM ST. GEORGE, DAYTONA, and BIG SANDY FEAST SITES

(As per our local pre-Feast plan, and out of an abundance of caution because of the below update, we will not have in-person services this Sabbath. 

We will have a live local Sabbath webcast.)

Unfortunately, although the Feast went very well, we have learned that there were some incidents of positive cases of COVID-19 at our Feast sites in St. George, UT; Big Sandy, TX; and Daytona Beach, FL. If you attended at those sites, it may be prudent to not attend services in-person this Sabbath in order to minimize any possibility of spreading the virus.

Some pastors have decided to only conduct online services this Sabbath, especially if they had several members who attended those sites or other sites in states with high positivity rates. We are leaving that decision to each local pastor. 

--Mark Welch, Operation Manager, Member and Ministerial Services

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SPECIAL RESOURCES FOR DURING THE COVID-19 SITUATION

GUIDELINES FOR IN-PERSON SERVICES

·        Hymns can be sung, but masks must be worn.

·        Plan to arrive about 15 minutes before service start time.

·        Masks are mandatory for age 10 and above for Ohio. They are mandatory in PA for age 2 and above. In West Virginia masks are required for age 9 and up.

·        We will take attendance as you enter with three basic questions about your exposure to Covid-19.

·        An infrared, touchless thermometer will be used to check for fever if needed.

·        Ushers will seat you, if needed, to provide for the necessary 6-foot, social-distancing.

·        Family groups will be seated together.

·        There will be no food or drinks (personal water bottles are excepted).

·        Please remember to wipe down all surfaces touched when using the restroom (wipes are provided).

·        After services we will vacate the hall within 15 or so minutes, but we can visit outside. 

COVID-19 Links and Resources:

Ohio COVID-19 Risk Level Guidelines for the Public: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/static/OPHASM/COVID-19-Risk-Level-Guidelines-GP.pdf

National: https://www.coronavirus.gov/

Ohio: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/

Pennsylvania: https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx

West Virginia: https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/Pages/default.aspx

UCG Updates and Hymn links:

UCG home office: https://www.ucg.org/members/news/united-church-of-god-coronavirus-updates

UCG Hymnal recordings and other links: https://www.ucg.org/members/hymnal

PHONE HOOK-UP to Home Office Webcasts

Phone hook-up to the webcast services from Cincinnati (2:30PM on Sabbaths) directions:

Please call no earlier than 5 minutes before services. If the Home Office has not activated the meeting, the caller will be put on hold, and then asked to call again later.

Calling Directions:

For those who can pay for long distance calls or have an unlimited phone calling plan:

Call: 1-508-924-1634

No access code needed.

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