Park Family,
Like me, you are probably overwhelmed with the amount of information about Covid-19. As a church, we want to be a settling and stabilizing presence as you consider the days ahead. Our staff team has been carefully monitoring the impacts of the virus on our local communities. We are continually in prayer and discussion, seeking wisdom to provide a measured response for you, our church family.
Specifically, we are considering the potential impact on those in our parish communities, especially those most vulnerable to health complications from this virus. We are aiming to balance both the protection of our community and our calling to be a source of encouragement and hope in this very concerning time.
We received information earlier today that both NEISD and SAISD are suspending classes for one week. Other local school districts are following similar policies. This directly affects our Midtown and Oak Meadow Parish Services, which meet in public schools on Sunday mornings. With our calling in mind and with the information available to us at this time, we have decided to not gather together for our two Sunday Morning Services at Oak Meadow Elementary (Oak Meadow Parish) and Mark Twain Dual Language Academy (Midtown Parish) for Sunday, March 15. MacArthur Terrace Parish will continue to meet at Northeast Baptist Church on Sunday evening at 5:00 PM. MacArthur Terrace is our newest parish and is small enough to fall under the CDC and San Antonio Public Health restrictions on group size. If you are a regular attender of MacArthur Terrace and in good health, consider joining your community for worship Sunday at 5:00 PM. In addition, we are postponing the Men’s retreat on March 20-21 to a later date.
It is with a heavy heart that two of our parishes will not be meeting together for Sunday, March 15 services. We remain committed to one another, and so in place of services, we will provide a video of one of our Parish pastor’s sermon as well as discussion questions for your family, Missional Community or Discipleship Core.
Please take this time to pray for health and wisdom for the world, and it’s leaders. Share hope and be smart. Be faithful in generosity in the weeks to come. Share with your neighbors and support the work of charities in the city. We are not fearful people, instead, we operate on faith and facts. We are confident that our Father in Heaven is sovereign, and He is our advocate. Take this time to slow down, enjoy family and friends, and seek the Lord in smaller communities.
We will update you this coming week on plans for the following Sundays. Please refer to www.theparksa.org for updates and opportunities to serve SA during this crisis.
Grace & Peace,
Scott Austin & The Park Community Leadership
Lent Guide
The Lenten season is 40 days in which the church reflects on the life and death of Jesus. At The Park we are beginning a series on the book of Philippians. The Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Philippi from a prison cell, unsure of whether he is going to be sentenced to death or not. He realizes that his life could end, but instead of responding in fear, he responds with joy and with hope. In just four chapters, Paul mentions joy or rejoicing sixteen times. With the full expectation of his death, he is filled with joy. We want this season of Lent to be one where together we are not just meditating on the things of God, but one where we are practicing them together. In order to help with this, we have created this Lent Guide that includes mediations, prayers, and some practices for us to do together. Some of these practices involve a sacrifice of giving something up. Some of them require us to give blessings to others rather than ourselves. We pray this guide will be a tool for you to fully experience this season. To view a digital copy of the Lent guide and see upcoming services during the Lenten season you can click here.
Men’s Monthly Prayer Nights
The men’s prayer group for Midtown meets on the third Thursday of the month and the Mac Terrace group meets on the third Friday of the month. These are parish specific prayer meetings. To receive more information from a parish pastor, you can click here.