This Sunday's Worship Materials can be found in the "Featured Sermon" below. We meet in person at Harper Park Middle School, and the service is also livestreamed on our YouTube channel.

Pastoral Letter for June 11th, 2021

oneanother covid
Pastoral Letter for a Faithful Church June 11, 2021
 
Dear friends,
 
Last week I sent you a schedule of how we’re going to further reopen the church, noting that we were going to do it incrementally over several months. We’ve received a number of comments and concerns over this plan. We’ve had people who think we should continue social distancing and mask requirements; others think we should discontinue social distancing, but continue the mask requirements for everyone; some think we should discontinue the mask requirements entirely; and yet others just think we all need to do the same thing, whatever it is. It’s clear that we have an engaged and responsive congregation when it comes to the issues of social distancing and wearing masks. Let me address these concerns below, and if you don’t have any of these concerns, then at least it will help you to understand why we made these decisions.
First of all, we are not going to segregate people by their personal preferences on these issues. If you want to wear a mask, that’s fine, we encourage you then to wear it. Several people who are vaccinated have indicated they’ll wear their mask because they feel safer, and that’s okay. As many of our children will still need to wear masks, several parents have indicated that they’ll continue to wear masks simply to make it easier on their kids. So be careful not to judge someone’s vaccination status simply because they’re wearing a mask. For months now, we have had folks who prefer to wear their mask outside after church, and I haven’t heard anyone comment on or question their personal decision. No reason for it to be any different inside.
Second, some have asked us to keep everyone masked while inside. That puts us in the position of making medical decisions that go beyond the current guidance of the CDC and the Virginia Department of Health, and therefore, is asking us to impose a mask mandate, even though we are not medical professionals. However, this seems to go well beyond our spiritual authority as church leaders. Which means, those who are vaccinated may voluntarily wear their mask, as some plan to do, but we’re not in a position to mandate that. People are free to make their own decision, based on what they feel is best for their family, while taking into consideration the other members of the church, and so, we can be accepting and supportive of their decision.
Third, some have asked us to mandate no masks for anyone. There’s a problem with this request – it’s against the law. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have followed the Governor’s Executive Orders in accordance with official CDC guidelines. The current order keeping the mask mandate in place for unvaccinated people has the force of law and is applicable throughout the Commonwealth, not just for schools and churches. Additionally, a number of people prefer to continue wearing the masks, and we’re not going to tell them they can’t. Any church deciding to disregard the current order regarding masks is making a decision to violate the law. And while there may be political reasons for such a decision, we do not have Biblical warrant to disobey the governing authorities (Romans 13:1-5) as we are not being prohibited from practicing our faith, worshiping together, preaching the gospel, or being asked to choose between obeying God or man.
Fourth, some have expressed concern that people in the church will simply refuse to follow the guidelines. And that means an unvaccinated person who refuses to wear a mask. While there’s great debate over whether wearing masks, or not wearing masks, is sinful, in this case, not wearing a mask is a declaration that you have been vaccinated. And if you haven’t been vaccinated, for personal or health reasons, and you don’t wear a mask, then you are lying about it to everyone around you, and lying is a sin as it’s a clear violation of the Ninth Commandment, as well as disobeying the Biblical teaching on governing authorities. Now, it does seem that may be a common practice in retail and grocery store settings, but those are not church families who have pledged to love and serve one another, who have taken vows to support the work and worship of the church and to strive for purity and peace.
Finally, as the vaccination numbers continue to rise and infection rates continue to drop, we hope to see the mask mandate completely removed in a matter of weeks, perhaps later this summer. We have all been waiting and praying for this. Let’s not remove ourselves from worship and cause division in the body of Christ because we can’t exercise self-denial and forbearance (as we have for months now) with one another for just a while longer. In our text for this Sunday we read, Romans 12:12, 15, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. … 15  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Twice we’re told to rejoice, even when things aren’t going our way. So we need to rejoice with those finally free of the masks, and weep with those who aren’t free of them yet.
Sometimes God surprises us with His timing. Last year, when I began looking for a sermon series for this summer, and decided upon a series going through the One Another commands of the New Testament, I had no idea how appropriate, and how necessary, these commands would be for us right now. Over the next twelve weeks, we’ll be looking at such things as how to Outdo One Another (in showing honor), how to Welcome One Another, how to Care for One Another, and how to Encourage One Another! So, we’re going to focus on putting all of these One Another Commands (and there’s over 37 just in the epistles) into practice as part of our church life this summer. At the same time, the elders will be looking to tamp down and discourage any divisive words or actions that have the potential to hurt the church. 
So, we’re going to focus on how to Love One Another (as Mark Rist will preach on in June), how to Serve One Another (as Ron Clifton will preach on in July), and how to Forgive One Another (as Timo Sazo will preach on in August).
How timely this is for our life together as the Body of Christ. Let’s make the gospel commands of Philippians 2:1-4 a description of our life together as a church, “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Grace & Peace,
Dr. David V. Silvernail, Jr., Senior Pastor
Potomac Hills Presbyterian Church