Coronavirus Church Resource Center

Description: Join certified Spiritual Director Lesley Mazzotta for a time of story sharing, processing lament and grief, and moving towards hope and healing. This small group is limited to 12 people to allow for meaningful sharing. Get up-to-date information on upcoming gatherings and reserve your spot here.

When: Monday evenings

Facilitator:  Lesley Mazzotta, Women’s Transformation and Leadership education specialist and certified spiritual director

In this webinar hosted by our partner Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission, professionals from the travel, insurance, and healthcare industries answer questions about planning airline travel, different types of trip insurance, and airline health/safety protocols. This information  will be helpful to anyone who is considering planning a future mission trip.

An expert explains how your church can start accepting electric donations using Tithe.ly’s giving platform quickly and easily. Tithe.ly is available to churches who are part of the Reformed Church in America (RCA) for no monthly fee and at a special per-gift rate as the RCA preferred electronic giving vendor.

As the world shelters in place in the face of the COVID-19 virus, congregations everywhere scramble to find new ways to be the church in the current reality. But what happens to the Lord’s Supper?

The Reformed Church Center at New Brunswick Theological Seminary, working with the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Western Theological Seminary, hosted a free webinar to help churches address this important question.

Speakers

Mashona Walston, senior pastor of First Church (Reformed) in Albany, NY, is a graduate of New Brunswick Theological Seminary. She is a proponent of neuroscience and prayer as means of providing resilience, and works with individuals, faith groups, and community partners for stronger and more positive relationships on local, national, and global scenes. She will speak on the challenge facing pastors as they try to navigate the current situation.

Matthew van Maastricht, pastor of the Altamont, NY, Reformed Church, doctoral candidate at the Free University of Amsterdam, and adjunct faculty member teaching Reformed polity and standards at both Western and New Brunswick Seminaries, will address what Reformed theology and church order says about celebrating the Sacrament remotely. Matthew also serves as General Editor for the Congregational History Series of The Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America and a founding leader of the Society for Protestant Church Polity.

John Witvliet is director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and professor of worship, theology, & congregational and ministry studies at Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary. The author of several books on worship and congregational song, his areas of interest include the history of Christian worship, worship practices in various denominations, biblical and systematic theology of worship, the role of music and the arts in worship, choral and congregational song and consulting with churches on worship renewal. John will speak on how congregations might “fast” frohe m the Lord’s Supper.

Ron Rienstra is Professor of Preachng and Worship Arts at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Since his ordination in the RCA in 1993, he has lived and ministered at educational institutions in Iowa, Michigan, and California, pursuing his primary interest: helping preachers, congregations, worship teams, and individuals learn to deepen and enliven their gatherings with God. He will look at how we might celebrate Maundy Thursday without the Supper.

Fresh Expressions, a church multiplication partner of the RCA, offered this webinar about facing the financial challenges arising from COVID-19.

As the Coronavirus continues to disrupt our lives, churches are beginning to navigate difficult financial realities. Furloughs and lay-offs are only the beginning. What steps can you take now to ensure your congregation will continue to thrive when the economy tanks?

Presenters Wayne Faison, Dave Briggs, Krystal Speed, and Laura Van Hove

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