COVID-19 Update
Friday, March 13
Skillman Family:
Out of an abundance of caution and care for our congregation and community, we will be moving our services online for the next two Sundays (March 15 & 22). All public meetings at our church facility have been postponed until further notice. You may or may not be aware that Dallas has been declared in a state of emergency due to the spread of the Coronavirus locally. Since there are so many unknowns at this point, we desire to take all reasonable precautions to help slow the spread of the virus.
Our online services will take place on Sundays at 11am (CST). At that time, get on your computer or phone and join us virtually as we sing songs, listen to the Word of God, and take communion together.
Keep checking your email because links to our online service will be sent out to you by Sunday morning.
- Sermons and Podcasts from the Skillman Church of Christ (Click HERE)
- To access our blog please click HERE
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All events and gatherings at our church facility have been suspended during the week. At this time, the church office will continue to stay open and will be available to receive phone calls.
As a faith community, we first and foremost want to affirm our belief that God is at work through this situation. We choose not to panic. This decision is not motivated by fear, but we are proactively taking steps as a church community to care for those most vulnerable and to help be a part of the solution.
We are pleased to inform you that the entire church facility, including all classrooms and the auditorium, are being professionally deep cleaned and disinfected yesterday and today through the services of a local business with expertise in this area.
If you are sick or begin feeling sick, please communicate with the church office and let us know how to best serve you and take care of your needs. We have people ready to serve! We are your church family and we are in this together. If you would like communion brought to your home, simply notify the church office at (214) 823-2179.
Thursday, March 12
As fear continues to surround the coronavirus outbreak worldwide, it is important to ask how followers of Jesus should respond to this. So, how should a follower of Jesus respond to the ongoing crisis surrounding this virus? I’m glad I asked. I think there are two essential ways that Christians can respond right now (and likely many more that can and should be commented on, but for now, these two will suffice).
The first is to bring peace in the midst of all that is going on. As people are concerned for themselves and their loved ones, as reports continue to spread and news breaks in new places, I believe that Christians have a unique ability to bring peace to those who are concerned, to those who are afraid, and to those who don’t know what to do. Our faith in Jesus gives us the confidence to face struggle, adversity, and outright opposition with assurance that God is still good, and that God still loves–even when we ourselves are in the throes of evil times. I encourage each of us to find ways to bring peace to every situation and to every person that you encounter. Your quiet, but strong, faith in Christ during this time can sustain you and others rather than giving in to the fear and the panic that can so easily come at this time.
Second, it continues to be important to take reasonable precautions. Here at the church, we are continuing to do everything that we can to make sure that this is a clean and safe facility for all who visit our campus. We continue to have our worship spaces, classrooms, gathering places, offices cleaned weekly (if not daily). Our facilities crew does a fantastic job of taking care of our buildings and keeping everything clean for us. In addition to these regular cleanings, we are also having special cleanings take place periodically for both the school and the church spaces so that we can keep everything as sanitary as possible. The second of these cleanings in the past month will take place on Thursday, March 12.
Another area of concern is in the process of taking communion. Once again, we have already had procedures in place that we will continue to utilize. As the communion is prepared weekly, our volunteers wash their hands and wear gloves to prepare the trays while they are handling the elements. At the conclusion of the services every week, the trays are washed and then returned for use again the next week. Starting this week, we will be using individual pieces of communion bread so that we can minimize the contact that each of us has with the bread. In the coming weeks, we will also have individual communion sets available for anyone who would prefer to take communion that way.
The beauty of the communion moment will continue to be the focal point of our service every week. This moment where we share in the sacrifice of Jesus is, in fact, exactly what is needed in our world today. In the midst of the fear, panic, and legitimate concerns, communion reminds us that Jesus has given his life for ours so that we can have life in this world and in the world to come with our God.
As a church, we are committed to the way of Jesus and to bringing peace in these times as well as in doing all that we can to create a safe worship environment for our church family, CDC students and families, and all visitors to our campus. If there are any additional concerns or ideas about how to address these issues, please don’t hesitate to contact our church office (214-823-2179).
