COVID-19 Updates & Resources

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak in NYC, all public gatherings of the church are currently canceled until June 1.

Hear these comforting words from Scripture:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 4:4-7

Pastoral Letters from Senior Minister, Keith Paulus

Please find below a series of letters from our Senior Minister, Keith Paulus. Click on the links below to hear some words of encouragement from him.

Hope for New York & Other Ways to Serve

The following is from Hope for New York:

Many of you are asking how you can help during this time. In this season, how do we love and serve our neighbors well when we are asked to socially distance ourselves? We believe there are three critical ways you can engage: Pray, Serve and Give.

Pray. Pray for our affiliates. Here are the specific prayer requests they’ve shared as they navigate this unprecedented crisis.
Serve. Volunteer with our affiliates providing essential services. We have created a COVID-19 Urgent Needs page that will be updated regularly. With a steep decline in volunteers, they need your help only if you are able.
Give. Give to Hope for New York. HFNY partners with 60+ organizations who serve our most vulnerable communities. We will support them with emergency/supplemental grants as they anticipate serving even more people with less resources.
Send cards and letters to nursing home residents at UES Rehabilitation & Nursing Center. Residents are not allowed any visitors at the moment, and thus are isolated from friends and family members. When your cards are made, bought or decorated and so forth (no need to personalize except for your name), please send them directly to the nursing home. Address below: (The postage may be reimbursed by HFNY so please save your receipt)
UES Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
211 East 79th Street, 3rd Floor, New York NY 10065
Attn: Ms. Mimi Otani in care of Activities Dept. Ms. Irina Kvint

We are so grateful for the many generous ways you have partnered with us as a volunteer, donor, church and affiliate. We ask that you prayerfully consider how you can engage in the weeks and months to come.

Other Ways To Serve:

The US Surgeon General noted the need for blood donations at this time and the call was repeated today. This is another way anyone who feels comfortable at this time can help.

Other ways we can help financially:

Helping out our local restaurants by going now (even if they are only doing delivery/take out) and buying a gift certificate - buy it directly and use it later. Yes, there is a risk they may go under, but consider it a donation and a way to help a local business and their employees at a time of need;
Ramping up our giving to organizations (refer to the Mercy & Compassion Fund section below).

Mercy & Compassion Fund

Christ Church NYC ("CCNYC") has a Mercy and Compassion Fund that we will be using at this time. If you know anyone from CCNYC who needs financial help, please ask them to contact Keith Paulus or the wardens and it will be handled confidentially. Also, if anyone in your home group wants to help other members of our congregation, please donate to CCNYC and mark it for "Mercy & Compassion".

However, if you want funds to go elsewhere, CCNYC is not the right place to disburse those funds promptly where they are most needed. Instead, please use an organization dedicated to the specific areas you want to help - HFNY has a list of some on their urgent needs page.

Ways to be Praying

Please join Keith Paulus and and other leaders every night at 8:30PM for a time of prayer. Consider engaging in family prayer together at this time. Set the alarm on your phone to go off at that time and then gather around to pray for our church, our city, and our world.
Please join Keith Paulus at noon every day from Monday to Saturday for a short Bible reading and a time of prayer together for our congregation, our city, our country, and the world around us. This will last about 20 minutes (max 30 minutes). This will be hosted on Zoom. If you are interested, please email Keith for the Zoom Meeting details.
Check out our blog page on "How To Pray In A Pandemic", with suggested prayer points, scriptures that can be turned into prayer and helpful Psalms that can be prayed.
Grab a copy of our church Monthly Prayer Diary. If you would like a copy, please email Katrina Tai.

Devotional

Please find below short devotionals written by Mark Hastings, one of the elders at Christ Church NYC, to help us stay grounded in God's Word during this unprecedented time. If you would like to subscribe to this, please subscribe here.