17
Mar '20
IN TIMES LIKE THESE
17
Mar '20
Warmest Christian greetings, I pray you and your loved ones are well physically and spiritually.
The Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc at home and abroad, bringing entire countries and communities to their knees. By now, everybody has been impacted by the pandemic in some way. The non-stop torrent of news about the virus is difficult to ignore, and I suspect that many of you have stocked up on supplies to get you through the coming weeks, if not months.
As we knew would happen, there has been a whirlwind of rapid developments that call for an update on what the Lake Region Conference (LRC) has done and is doing to deal with this unprecedented situation. Please note the following items, some of which are actions voted by LRC’s Administrative Council, ADCOM.
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- We can now confirm that General Conference 2020 has been postponed. The next quinquennial gathering of the World Church will take place May 20-25, 2021, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Not all ramifications of the postponement of the Session have been resolved. For more information on the matter, please visit the General Conference News Network.
- All Conference programs through the end of March have been canceled. Impact Indiana events scheduled for later this spring are still under review.
- The CALLED Minister’s Conference has been rescheduled to the summer of 2022. Also postponed to a date to be determined is the Your Best Pathway to Health Medical and Dental Clinic. A decision on the General Conference Session is yet to be made.
- Both Andrews University and Oakwood University have suspended face-to-face instruction for the rest of the semester.
- All LRC schools are closed for the immediate future. Instruction will be delivered via technology.
- The Conference Office is closed. Office personnel will be working from home, and you may contact them via email.
- International and domestic travel of LRC personnel have been barred.
- Due to government guidelines regarding the number of people who may assemble, we are MANDATING that all church services be suspended until further notice.
- This coming Sabbath, March 21, 2020 at 12 EST, 11AM CST, an online worship service with guidance and instruction from Conference leadership, and the Word of God preached by your humble servant, will be streamed. We encourage all LRC members and friends to join us online either on our YouTube page or our at our Live Stream Page.
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As there is still much about the Coronavirus COVID-19 that is unknown, and as medical authorities and government leaders continue to stumble and stagger about in search of answers, let us not forget that our God is still on the throne and knows all. The current conundrum is no mystery to God, who will move in His own time and His own way.
In times like these, let us hold to the words of the Psalmist, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? . . . For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock” (Psalm 27:1, 5).
Under His Wings,
Dr. R. Clifford Jones
Pastor/President