God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…

~Psalm 46:1

Dear Church Family,

Along with you, we (the staff and leadership of FPCY) have continued to monitor closely the rapidly evolving news regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19), both the recommendations from health officials and the growing wave of church, school, business, and sports cancellations. This morning the Yorktown Clergy met with Town Supervisor Matt Slater who updated us on how the town is responding, and this afternoon the Hudson River Presbytery Council met to issue updated recommendations to the congregations in the Presbytery.

After much prayerful discernment and careful consideration of what we have learned, we have decided to limit in-person gatherings at the church in the following ways:

This Sunday, we will have one worship service at 10:45 am which will also be live-streamed through Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/fpcyorktown. This allows people the choice of attending in person or online. If you decide to come to the church, we will observe appropriate precautionary measures, such as no physical contact. If you decide to stay home, you will be able to watch and participate in the entire service. (Please note: you do not have to join Facebook in order to watch the livestream.) The service will also be available afterwards on our website.
There will be NO Sunday School, Confirmation, Faith4Life, or New Member classes, and NO Coffee Hour or Youth Bells after the service. The Deacons will meet online via Zoom at noon (stay tuned for more information). In addition, we will postpone the showing of the Mr. Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Sunday evening.
We also recommend moving other meetings and Bible studies online for the time being, but we will let those groups inform their members respectively.

Because this situation is so fluid and unprecedented for many of us, we will continue to monitor and re-evaluate it from week to week.

Considering our special Lenten focus on how important worship is to our faith and life together, this was not an easy decision to make. While we recognize the need for social distancing, we also want to encourage community, in person when safe and possible, but also through technology. The danger is that we become isolated during this time and lose our connection to God, one another and the world.

Trusting in Jesus’ words, “wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them,” we hope that however you join us, we can gather in God’s presence for worship. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that our worship word for this week is LISTEN, and we will have the opportunity to listen for God’s life-giving Word in a new way. To that end, the worship service on Sunday will be as close to our normal service as possible. We will send out the bulletin ahead of time, as well as provide liturgy and hymn lyrics on the screen, so that you can participate in the service as if you were in the pew. Finally, regardless of how you attend, it would be helpful to our ministry if you could maintain your pledge support via the mail or electronically (https://onrealm.org/myFPCY/-/give/now).

As we continue on our Lenten journey through this challenging time, please remember to check in on neighbors, friends, and folks in our church family. Please let us know of any pastoral concerns.

May we continue to pray for all those who are sick, all those providing care, and all those who are struggling with the damaging effects of this virus on their lives. May we continue to be a neighborhood of care and support for one another and for our community and world.

Worshipping God together in a spirit of love and listening,

Chip & Tami