Update – Church Reclosing

My Dear EAFUMC Church Family,

I bring you the love and grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that you continue to be encouraged, especially in these troubled times. I believe many of you have read the recent mitigation from our public health department in Region 4, and they have recommended following their new guidelines, one of which; “Lowering the number of people attending any religious activities. Churches having 100 attendance down to just 25%.
The rest of the churches from 50 down to 25 max due to the continuous rise of COV-19 cases in our area. I have also attended our district meeting last Tuesday, Aug 18, 2020, and so far, our conversations were troubling with many concerns and frustrations. Well, this is not the church’s fault, the government’s fault, nor is it the people’s fault. The truth is, there is no
vaccine of any kind to battle this dreaded virus. The numbers will continue to rise. My home country, the Philippines, is now on lockdown again. The last time I heard there were around 13,000+ cases, now it has gone up to over 100,000 in a matter of 3 months. Our region is now in the red zone, and the metrics are likely to put us on the state’s warning list as early as
8/21/20. Without a vaccine, Coronavirus will continue to infect people.

And, so, after all communication and correspondence from our church officers, our District Superintendent, and with much thought and prayers, it is with deep regret that we must close our doors again. With our Church demographics, it is too risky to continue to have in-person Worship at this time. We just could not afford anybody contracting this disease. I believe that you will all agree with me, it is better to be safe than sorry. I am asking everyone to be more understanding loving and forgiving. I know we just reopened but we are all walking on a thin line and prevention is still one of the best ways to help fight this silent killer. As John Wesley said in his 3 Simple Rules… DO NO HARM, Do good, Stay in Love with GOD, highlighting the first one.

On the brighter side, we will continue to strengthen our Livestream Worship together with dedicated church volunteers. We will also continue with our Parking Lot Worship and when I come back from my short break, a Zoom Bible study and fellowship will be set. Remember, you are not alone in this fight and with the help of God in Christ, the Ministry of
East Alton First UMC will continue.

Thank you all for your love and understanding. I love you all, I am your Pastor, and I am here to serve. God bless and God bless EAST ALTON FIRST UMC.
In Christ alone,
Edward Granadosin
Lead Pastor East Alton First UMC