United Church of God

2020 Feast of Tabernacles: Cochrane, Alberta

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2020 Feast of Tabernacles

Cochrane, Alberta

We webcast each day with more than 30 connections, and a phone hookup for those who without computers. An average of 6-9 people connected via the phone hookup. Our technical crew did a fantastic job!

We had three greeters at a table at the entrance, past the hand sanitizer station. They had the registration list, which we kept for possible contact tracing. For any who had not registered, the greeters took down their contact information. We required masks to be worn when entering and exiting, plus while singing congregational hymns. Glen Klaussen was on security and made sure that those entering had masks.

The weather was great. Everyone stayed healthy. There were only a few anointings. For music, we had three pianists as well as an ensemble that stayed compliant with COVID-19 guidelines. It was wonderful to have three selections of the adult virtual choir plus two children’s choir pieces of special music. Owen Davis took over coordinating the music since Ralph Redline, who had been planned as music coordinator, was not able to come from the U.S. because of the border crossing restrictions.

The messages were excellent. The theme of the Kingdom of God developed. We posted all of the sermons online about a day after they were given. The home office videos were also played on Friday, with the welcome video on opening night.

The only activities we had were a young adults/teen study which Sheldon Sitter conducted and two Festival youth instruction classes by Susan Davis, a school teacher. One highlight was when a moose walked past us during Festival youth instruction when the kids were outside. We were also blessed to have two baptisms.

We had no coffee service, but we did buy bottled water which was available by the two entrances. People were generous with donations and they covered all the cost of the water and masks. We also had a collection box available for three days of the Feast so people could donate to the local food bank. Also, we had a Holy Day offering box at the entrance on both the Holy Days before and after services, so no offering baskets were passed around. The housing survey was done after the Feast by email.

Here are a few overall comments from the survey forms:
• The location was fantastic, very quiet and picturesque.
• God definitely placed His hand over the site and blessed the speaking and fellowship.
• Well-planned Feast, even with the cumbersome health restrictions in place. A real blessing to still be able to gather for worship, praise and encouragement!