Changes Due To Government Covid-19 Restrictions

Covid-19 | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Downtown Cornerstone,

The spread of Covid-19 continues so we, therefore, continue to adapt.

New Restrictions

This morning, the Governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, announced a ban on events of more than 250 people in the Seattle metro area. Additionally, the King County Executive, Dow Constantine, issued a separate public health order that prohibits gatherings of less than 250 people unless certain stringent requirements are met, including:

• High-risk individuals do not attend (over 60 years old, pregnant, underlying health issues, etc.).
• Social distancing measures are enforced (including being within six feet of others for ten minutes or longer).
• Employees must be screened for Covid-19 symptoms each day.
• Proper hand hygiene and sanitation must be readily available.

The first three of these requirements would be difficult—if not impossible—to enforce, especially the social distancing. This means, legally, we are unable to gather because we cannot comply with the public health order. We are not alone. There is a long list of other Seattle organizations canceling events, including Seattle Public Schools.

OUR RESPONSE

Therefore, we will be adapting in the following ways:

#1 SUNDAY

Starting this Sunday we will move our public gatherings to one gathering via livestream at 10am. In other words, beginning this Sunday, we will not publicly gather at our building until we are legally permitted to do so. However, we will continue to gather online via livestream. A small team (staff, strategic volunteers, deacons, and elders) will be at the building to lead the gathering, from singing to preaching. Rather than record the 9am gathering and re-play it at 11am, we will hold one live gathering at 10am. Please note the time change and spread the word.

#2 COMMUNITIES

As of today, all formal Cornerstone Community gatherings are canceled.

#3 CLASSES

As of today, all classes are canceled.

#4 EVENTS

• Taking the Gospel to the Nations, March 21st: We will postpone this event to a later date.
• Members Meeting, March 29th: We will either cancel or create a livestream option. Stay tuned.
• DCC’s 9th birthday, April 5th: TBD
• Good Friday and Easter, April 10th-12th: TBD

#5 MEETINGS

If you have a meeting scheduled with a staff member or pastor, be sure to double-check before meeting.

AND THEY WERE ALL SCATTERED…

While we grieve with those who have lost loved ones amidst the spread of Covid-19, we can trust that God is at work in significant ways behind the scenes. Do you remember what caused the gospel to spread in the early church? Persecution. “There arose…a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions…” (Acts 8:1). The very thing that was meant to stamp out Jesus’ cause, was used by God to further spread it to the nations. What man intended for evil, God intended for good (Gen. 50:20). While the details of our particular situation are unique, the principle isn’t. If he did that then, what might he be up to now? Let’s keep trusting him together. More soon…

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam

Covid-19 Update and This Sunday

Covid-19 | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Downtown Cornerstone,

We thought it would be helpful to send another brief note prior to our Sunday gathering. We are still planning to gather and continue our series through Romans unless circumstances change dramatically. I encourage you to read my post from earlier this week, if you haven’t already, which describes our plan to mitigate the potential spread of Covid-19—though we have made a few additional changes since then.

WHY WE GATHER

The regular gathering of Jesus’ people to sing, pray, and preeminently sit under God’s Word is the most important means of grace in a Christian’s life. The word for church in Greek literally means “assembly, or congregation.” In Christ, we now belong to Jesus’ people, universal and local. That means Sunday is the one time during the week where we get to physically live out this shared identity. Therefore, gathering on the Lord’s Day, Sunday, has been integral to Jesus’ people from the very beginning.

IS ANYONE ELSE GATHERING?

However, we won’t be the only ones gathering. The Seattle school district is still in session. The Sounders are playing on Saturday. Concerts are still happening throughout the city. Museums and tourist attractions are still open. My oldest has a junior high basketball game on Saturday. Life goes on, even with more hand-washing and avoidance of touching your face.

WHEN NOT TO GATHER

However, in alignment with CDC guidelines, we do encourage you to stay home if:

• You, or a family member, has a cough, fever, or other respiratory difficulties (i.e. you’re sick).
• You are over 60 years old (a population particularly susceptible to Covid-19)
• You have underlying health conditions such as heart or lung disease, or a weakened immune system.
• Or, you are pregnant.

Remaining home under such circumstances is not evidence of a lack of faith, but prudential wisdom.

A TEMPORARY SOLUTION (LIVE STREAMING)

In light of the present circumstance, we will be offering a temporary live-streaming option of our gathering. You will be able to access the live stream from our webpage or this link. While we don’t believe merely viewing a church gathering online constitutes “gathering” with the church, it is better than non-attendance or listening to a recorded sermon later. We will evaluate the extent to which we will continue to offer this option as the situation develops.

WHEN WE GATHER

Therefore, here are a few notes for when we gather this Sunday:

• Don’t give into fear, just be smart.
• Wash your hands and use hand sanitizer. New stations have already been installed.
• Work on your elbow-bump or foot-tap welcome (!)
• We will not have a designated meet-and-greet.
• For increased sanitation, communion will temporarily consist of separate cups.

Let’s continue to pray: for the sick, for the fearful, for salvations, and for the glory of God to shine brightly. Amidst an uncertain world, He alone is certain: “He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress: I shall not be greatly shaken” (Ps. 62:2). The mission continues. Let’s be humble, wise, and courageous as we follow him together.

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam

P.S. Don’t forget this Sunday, March 8, is Daylight Saving Time. #springforward

Missions Conference: Taking the Gospel to the Nations

Event, Missions, Teaching

It is estimated that there are over 7,000 unreached people groups and 3 billion people in the world that have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, have a Bible in their language, or have a church to gather with. We know, even in the midst of this reality, that God continues to use his saints to carry out his mission of saving his people across all tribes, nations, and tongues (Rev. 5:9, 7:9).

The light that dawned on us two thousand years ago is still reaching the ends of the earth (Is. 9:2, 49:6), and we get to participate in spreading this light! (1 Pet. 2:9)

Imagine a people who were once separated from Christ being brought near to him (Eph. 2:13), having the privilege of being called his own (Jn. 1:12), becoming part of a thriving local church (Acts 11:26; Col. 1:28), and spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ to others (2 Cor. 2:14)! Many of us relate to this because we have been beneficiaries of the faithful, gospel-proclaiming work of others who came before us.

How can we be participating in carrying on this gospel legacy? While we are under God’s sovereign hands, he calls us to be diligent in our efforts to equip, send, and support those who are carrying out Jesus’ commission of making disciples of all nations (Mt. 28:20; Rom. 15:16). This requires careful thought and navigating practical realities even as we rely on God’s glory as the fuel for missions work (Is. 40:5).

One of our speakers, is an instructor at Radius International which is focused on equipping cross-cultural workers to establish healthy, indigenous churches among unreached people groups. Watch a short video below on how Radius is taking this task seriously.

 

Want to learn how you can better pray for and support missionaries we send out? Are you considering maybe one day going to the mission field yourself? Do you want to have your heart stirred afresh by the story that God is unfolding throughout the world?

We invite you to join us for a one-day Missions Conference sponsored by Acts 29 Northwest and hosted by Downtown Cornerstone Church.

Date: Saturday, March 21st, 9 am – 3 pm
Venue: DCC Building
Registration: $20 per person (scholarships available)

Throughout the day we’ll look at the biblical case for missions, the current state of missions, examples of missions done well, and practical next steps for our churches.

LEARN MORE

Note: We are still planning to gather unless the circumstances surrounding the spread of Covid-19 do not permit us to do so. In such cases, all registrations will be reimbursed.

Update (03/11/2020): Due to government restrictions related to Covid-19, we are postponing this event to a later date. Registration will reopen after a new date is determined. For more information, see related blog post.

Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Update & Response

Covid-19 | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Downtown Cornerstone,

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Ps. 46:1)—whether spiritual, financial, emotional, relational, or physical. This is crucial to keep at the forefront of our hearts amidst the unfolding outbreak of the Covid-19 Coronavirus in our area. Our God reigns and nothing happens outside his loving, wise, and good sovereign reach—even disease and death (Dt. 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6; Job 1:20-21; Ja. 4:13-16).

Cultivating a Godward perspective grounds our hope and gives us confident poise as we seek to be wise (Ja. 1:5-6; Mt. 10:16) amidst a world subjected to futility, longing to be set free from its corruption (Rom. 8:20). Therefore, we will not fear (Isa. 41:10). This is not the first of its kind, nor will it be the last (e.g. H1N1/Swine flu, Avian flu, Ebola, MERS, SARS) until the Lord ushers in the new heaven and the new earth (Rev. 21:1-4).

But, until then, we must find the wisest, most prudential path forward when faced with a world gone awry. Therefore, the elders met last night to consider how to best navigate this season together. While circumstances change daily, here is our current plan:

#1 Pray:

Any reminder of our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9) and brevity of life (Ja. 4:14), is good for our souls (Ps. 119:67,71). It reminds us that we are not our own (1 Cor. 6:19). It reminds us that our lives are found in Him (Phil. 3:9). It reminds us where our true and lasting treasure is found (Phil. 1:21; Mt. 13:44, 45-46) and to fervently pray for ourselves, and others, with these mega-realities in view.

#2 Gatherings:

We encourage you to continue to gather with the church. At this time, public health agencies are not recommending the general public avoid large group gatherings. Therefore, we are not planning to cancel Sunday gatherings, classes, or communities unless there is a government directive to do so.

#3 Sanitation:

We will be placing additional foaming disinfectant stations in our lobbies and other key points throughout the building.

#4 Kids:

We will be taking extra measures within the Cornerstone Kids classrooms to wipe down hard surfaces (handles, toys, dispensers, etc.) before, during, and after our gatherings.

#5 Meet-and-greet:

We will be altering our meet and greet by adding a friendly disclaimer that handshakes are not expected, but love of your neighbor is (Mk. 12:31).

#6 Communion:

We will be providing an additional communion option, for those uncomfortable sharing in the common bread and cup.

#7 Signage:

The CDC states that remaining home while sick and thoroughly washing your hands are the best preventative measures we can take. Therefore, we will be posting additional signage as reminders of this fact at disinfectant stations, bathrooms, and Kids ministry.

#8 Cancellations:

Depending on the progress of the virus, we may need to cancel, or reduce, certain elements of our gathering(s) and/or ages we can offer for Cornerstone Kids.

#9 Caution:

People who are at higher risk of illness may want to consider ways to lower their risk of infection by limiting contact with crowds, including those: (1) over 60 years old, or (2) with underlying health conditions such as heart disease and lung disease, or (3) with weakened immune systems, or (4) pregnant. If you, or a family member, has a cough, fever, or other respiratory difficulties, we encourage you to refrain from participating in any church-related activity until you are fever-free for 24 hours.

#10 Covid-19:

If you become sick with the Coronavirus, please notify us immediately.

#11 Monitoring:

We are continuing to monitor the latest news and recommendations released by the CDC, state, and city officials. We will keep you posted as we learn more. If you have any questions, please email us at .

We grieve with those who have lost loved ones to this latest pandemic (Rom. 12:15). We are not minimizing that. Living in a world corrupted by sin is wearying. The tears and pain are real. But, even so, we do not lose heart because, “this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:16-18). Take heart, friends, and let’s press on together (Jn. 16:33).

Yours, in Christ.
Pastor Adam