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Dear Cross of Life Family:
 
Needless to say, the spread of the coronavirus has placed us in an unusual time and is forcing us to make some difficult decisions.  The Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the office of the Governor of Georgia, and a communication from our Southeastern Synod office have all encouraged congregations to consider cancelling public worship and reassessing the situation as we go forward.  After considering the situation and its potential ramifications, your Church Council has decided to take that action, and we are cancelling Sunday worship on March 15 and 22, as well as Wednesday Lenten activities on March 18, and we will continue to assess the situation before making decisions beyond that point.  Our Montessori School will also be closed for the next two weeks.
 
We do not make this decision lightly.  As a part of the Body of Christ here on earth, one of the fundamental ways we express that reality is when we come together as a community and worship our Lord.  These are, however, unusual times and we want to keep our members safe and do our part to help contain this deadly virus.  We will continue to post Sunday sermons on our website and Facebook page, and we will be looking to provide additional materials to enhance and encourage continued worship even though we are not together in the same place. 
 
The church office will strive to keep its regular hours when advisable, and the Church Council will hold its regular meeting on March 16.  However, other church activities will be postponed or canceled unless participants are notified otherwise.  If you have pastoral care needs, you can continue to call the church office or the Pastor-on-Call number (470-440-1265). 
 
This is a challenging time for our country and for the world.  Please be in prayer for people suffering from both COVID-19 and its impact, for people providing care, and for those people making important decisions.  ELCA Bishop Eaton provides a good perspective on the church’s approach to this crisis in a video you can access at this link: https://elca.org/publichealth. 
 
Trusting in God’s grace,
 
Pastor Terri Stagner-Collier and Congregation President Rocky Moore