The Ward Hill Church Bell Ringer – April 18, 2021 – 3rd Sunday of Easter

NO MIDWEEK MEETING THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK of SPECIAL EXHIBIT!
Bible Display at the Museum of Printing in Haverhill
https://www.museumofprinting.org/ Address: 15 Thornton Ave, Haverhill, MA 01832
Many historic Bibles are on display, including the original 1663 printing of John Eliot’s translation of the Old and New Testaments into the indigenous Massachusett language. The museum is open on Saturdays from 10 to 4 or by special appointment.

Church Calendar & Lectionary
This Season: Easter – 50 days concluding with Pentecost (Apr 4 – May 23, 2021)
Color: White – for the glory of Christ’s resurrection
This Sunday: 3rd Sunday of Easter

Sun, Apr 25: 4th Sunday of Easter – Good Shepherd Sunday
Lectionary: Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18
Hymns: 184 – The King of Love My Shepherd Is; 87 – The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want; 599 – Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

Monthly Prayer Focus for April
Local Church Focus: April – Armenian Apostolic Church at Hye Pointe, Ward Hill – Fr Vart Gyozalyan, pastor; Missions Focus: Barnabas Ministries
Community Resources – Food, Clothing, Shelter, & Other Help http://www.communityactioninc.org/phocadownload/resource_guide_english_october_2017.pdf National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Refugee Ministries: Interserve USA (interserveusa.com); Emmanuel Gospel Center’s Greater Boston Refugee Ministry (www.egc.org/refugee)
Global Crisis Help: World Relief – worldrelief.org
Information on Persecuted Christians: Open Doors USA – opendoorsusa.org

Monthly Scripture Memory for April
Romans 10:9-13 (ESV) – 9 Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Catechism: An Outline of the Faith
Q. What is corporate worship?
A. In corporate worship, we unite ourselves with others to acknowledge the holiness of God, to hear God’s Word, to offer prayer, and to celebrate the sacraments.
Q. What are the sacraments?
A. The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace.
Q. What is grace?
A. Grace is God’s favor toward us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills.
Q. What are the two great sacraments of the Gospel?
A. The two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church are Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.

COVID-19 Safety Precautions for In-Person Worship at Ward Hill Church
Last Revised – November 26, 2020

1. If you are experiencing symptoms of any kind (fever, cough, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath, etc.), even if you think it is probably an illness other than Covid-19, you must not attend in person. But please join us online!
2. If you are in any kind of high risk category for Covid-19, we strongly encourage you to continue attending the service online from your home. Gatherings of any kind carry risk. While we believe that our limited in-person attendance will be quite safe with our precautions, we cannot guarantee protection from the coronavirus. We value your safety and well-being!
3. If you choose to attend in person, please notify Pastor Alex at least one day before the service. While we don’t anticipate that we’ll have too many desiring to be in person on any given Sunday, we want to make certain that the total number is properly limited. If you choose to be in person only from time to time, that is fine as long you inform Pastor Alex when you’ll be coming.
4. In accordance with state orders, face coverings/masks are mandatory for the entirety of the service, even for singing. (An allowable exception is made for service leaders and musicians while they are on the platform at considerable distance from the main seating area.)
5. You must remain at a minimum 6-foot distance from all others who do not belong to your own household.
6. You must bring your own bread and wine/juice on Communion Sundays. For the remainder of the pandemic, we will be observing Holy Communion on the 1st Sunday of each month only.
7. Do not linger inside the church building after the service is concluded.
8. Do not invite guests. In-person attendance is for regular attenders only. (Note: You do not have to be a member, just a regular attender prior to the pandemic.) Do, however, let guests know about our online service and that we are looking forward to welcoming them in person as soon as the pandemic subsides.
9. If you have any questions or concerns about in-person attendance at our online services, please let Pastor Alex know. We want to make everything as safe as possible, and we value your input.