There’s nothing better than worshiping our God in person with friends and family. Last Friday night our Special Needs Ministry’s adult class, Fellowship of Friends, got the chance to do just that. During this season, our ministry has taken the health and safety of our students very seriously. As the months passed and we continued to see our students weekly via Zoom online it was starting to weigh heavily on my heart not being right there in person. Not just for my sake but my students who have also longed for that face-to-face connection. After taking a poll regarding our annual Christmas program I decided it was time to try our first in-person event following all the safety guidelines.
 

 

What better way to kick off meeting in person again than to sing praises to our Lord on campus outside under the new plaza tent! Unsure of how everyone would do with keeping masks on while being mobile, staying socially distanced, etc., we made sure we had some extra volunteers around to help as needed. Our students did amazing! After everyone was safely seated, the masks came off and it all felt just like “old times.” Our focus of the night was to remember Who is ultimately in control in this season, where we can find our hope and joy, and how thankful to God we should be for all our continued blessings. Our worship night was a combination of singing songs led by Special Needs Ministry staff member Lexy Farag, Scripture reading and prayer.

After the event I asked what being able to safely meet in person for a worship night meant to them, and a few of the responses I got were:

“Breath of fresh air.”
“I loved seeing my friends, singing, and the verses.”
“It was so beautiful to see everyone singing and praising God.”

I’m looking forward to many more opportunities to allow our students to worship together in person!

Alise Ramseyer