“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” —Psalm 23:1

Dear Friends at St. Thomas,

This month I want to write to you to let you know about all the things that have been going through my mind lately with regard to St. Thomas and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

First, and foremost, I want you all to know that you are in my prayers constantly. As the pandemic continues, not a day goes by when I don’t think about St. Thomas and how best to serve God’s people there. Unfortunately, the answer to this question is not easy, and in this ever-changing situation I often find myself paralyzed by indecision. With the most recent updates from both the Ohio and the Indiana governors, the path forward does seem a bit more clear, at least in the short-term.

Ohio and Indiana are beginning to open up again, but very slowly. It will still be some time before things are anywhere close to what we’ve always known as normal. Although things will be opening a little at a time, people who are considered “at risk” are still going to be encouraged to stay safe at home as much as possible. Unfortunately, this group includes the large majority of our members at St. Thomas. This is something Pastor Sims mentions in his sermon for the first Sunday in May. Indiana says that houses of worship can begin to hold in-person services again starting on May 8th, but those who are “at risk” are encouraged to continue to stay home.

Given the current state of affairs, and in light of the most recent guidelines, it just doesn’t seem like a good idea for us to come together face-to-face again for another few weeks at least.

So what’s the current plan?

Right now, I plan to continue to broadcast a service every Sunday, live at 9:00am. You can watch live if you like by visiting the St. Thomas Facebook page. The web address is facebook.com/StThomasLCMS. If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can still watch live without signing up. You can also watch the service at any time after it is over by visiting the same page. If you don’t want to watch at 9:00am, you can watch it whenever you like.

After the service is over, I will also keep posting the video to the new St. Thomas website so that you can find it there as well. The web address is StThomasLCMS.com. Look for the “Posts” link to see the embedded videos and other content.

Speaking of that other content, I also plan to write short posts as often as possible which will be posted on the website. My hope is that these can help you to continue to receive God’s Word and stay connected to St. Thomas throughout the week.

When it finally seems safe to start holding services in person again, I hope you will all be ready to come back to church and hear God’s word and receive the body and blood of Christ which we need now, it seems, more than ever. And I’ll be sure to let you all know when that happens. Until then, pray for each other, and stay safe.

I think this is also a good time to share with you some good news, although you have probably already heard it by now: During the combined Vicarage and Call service, it was announced that Daniel Gray, our fieldworker, will be able to continue as our Vicar for the next year. We thank God for this wonderful blessing. Daniel will continue to bless St. Thomas with his service, and he will be blessed by us with this opportunity to gain valuable experience in his pastoral formation. This is certainly reason to rejoice in this time.

I also want to encourage you to contact me for any prayer requests or other needs, or if you have any feedback on what we’re doing. Since I’m at the seminary library during the week still, evenings are usually best, but I’m always happy to talk.

As I said, you are all in my prayers constantly. I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd will bless you and keep you in His mercy and grace until we come together again.

God’s peace be with you,

Pastor Peters