The Session of New Hanover Presbyterian Church has been closely monitoring the rising number of cases of COVID-19 in Virginia and the United States. Even though the announced number of cases in Virginia has been low, we are told that due to sporadic testing and mistaking milder COVID-19 infections for the flu means that the actual number of cases may be as much as five to ten times higher than the reported numbers. Without being panicked, the session has determined that the possibility of transmission (and its possible consequences for our loved ones of church and home) is too great for us to continue to hold “in-person” worship services at New Hanover.

This does NOT mean the church will be closed! Instead:

• The office will be open as usual to receive your calls and conduct our usual functions,
• Team meetings and other groups may continue through phone and online meetings and
• Our weekly service of worship will still be held each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. through our YouTube channel and through Facebook (information on this will follow).We will be offering other services for our community in this time of uncertainty, including

• A way to communicate prayer requests and to pray with someone over personal concerns by phone
• Issuing daily devotions on Facebook and email (starting Monday, March 16) and
• A phone contact care system for our members and friends that will persist for the duration of the present period of health concerns. We have only one reason to exist as a church – to bring glory to God, and to be grateful for God’s amazing gift of redemption in Jesus Christ. The worship we offer and the service we do is something that continues regardless of the situation that surrounds us. So, I hope, at this moment, you will decide with me that whatever may be coming:

• We will remember that God is always in control and nothing can separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:37-39)

• We will trust in God’s promise to us that we will not be left or forsaken in any situation in which we may find ourselves. (Hebrews 13:5)
• We will rely on God’s power to be made evident when we are most weak (2 Corinthians 12:9)
• We will celebrate Jesus’ affirmation that he has come so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10)
• We will model ourselves and our response to what comes to us on the example of a man who knew both great suffering and tremendous triumph in his service of God, the Apostle Paul – “…I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13, emphasis added)There will be more to come as situations evolve, but this must always be our theme: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

In Christ,

Dr. Robert Johnson and the Session of New Hanover Presbyterian Church