To My Church Family,
I pray that this letter finds each of your families doing well in the New Year. As you may know, news outlets are reporting an uptick in COVID-19 cases throughout our area. This news brings our church to a time of decision. As Pastor of PIBC, I would like to encourage us to continue the unity brought about by one service, at 10am, on Sundays. As we gather in our Sanctuary, we are asking everyone to be considerate of others’s personal space and to request that you "social distance". For those who feel more comfortable wearing a mask, we encourage you to do so. For those that would rather not wear a mask, no worries and no explanation needed. Regardless of our personal views of COVID, our church has a rich history of loving each other and being mindful of the health and needs of those around us. We should respect each person's right to make their own health choices.
We will also be opening the Fellowship Hall on Sundays to simulcast the service for anyone needing more social distancing space than is available in the Sanctuary. Things are not changing anytime soon so we must adapt to the current situation while still trying to meet the spiritual needs of our congregation.
I am very thankful for the prayers of my church. Cathy and I have been stressed like the rest of you in trying to figure out how to respond to the changing world. The Bible tells us to encourage, pray, and lift one another up in troubled times. Over these next few weeks and months, let us love one another through this. If you are one who finds COVID 19 to be an annoyance and you are not worried about it please remember that there are some people who are concerned about the pandemic because of pre-existing conditions.
One of the strengths of our church is “The FAMILY Atmosphere” that we have here at PIBC. I have slowly watched this aspect of our church get attacked by Satan. I love each of you and I want us to be as strong as possible. This will take each of us living with each other in an understanding way. I imagine most of us who have a spouse knows what that means with all the changes we have seen since March of 2020.
I am thankful to be your pastor and I am thankful for the grace you have shown me throughout this past year. Trying to navigate such changing times has been difficult but, I have been blessed by the leadership of PIBC. I am thankful for the many sacrifices that have been made on Sundays. Two services are very taxing on those who lead worship and who make it possible for us to put this ministry out on the web.
In February we will start back with our Wednesday nights. We will go back to Mission Friends, RA’s, GA’s, Truth Diggers, Youth, and Adult bible studies. The adults will meet in the Sanctuary and we will be live streaming these bible studies for those who cannot attend on Wednesday evenings.
Let us continue to pray for and lift one another up in the name of Jesus.
If you have a prayer request that you would like us share and pray for please go to https://pibc.church/prayer-request and share it there.
Your Pastor,
Tom Dobbs