SV Update
7.1.2020

Hello SV Family,

We hope you’re doing well. We want to know if you are sick, struggling or need any help. We are here for you!

Lead Pastor Search Team Update
Let’s start out with some good news. We have an update from our Lead Pastor Search Team. Early on they determined a timeline for what the search process would look like. There are 5 Phases of the Process. They are now in  Phase 4, the “Candidate” phase. The team is continuing to vet and has begun interviewing final candidates. They are greatly encouraged by the candidates they are interviewing. You can find out more about the Search Process by going to sv.church/pastorsearch

Let’s continue to pray for the team as they interview. Let’s pray for wisdom and clarity specifically. Let’s also pray for the man God has already chosen to become our Lead Pastor. Let’s pray for where he is serving now and those to whom he is shepherding. Let’s also pray for his family during this transition. And let’s pray for us. That we (the church) will be united, excited, welcoming, and supportive to new leadership. These are exciting times!

COVID-19
We continue to monitor the situation concerning COVID-19. We are watching what is happening in other states that have recently opened. We are also watching how other churches across the country are responding to the spike in confirmed cases. 

One thing we can be certain about is that these are certainly “uncertain” times. We definitely can say, no one knows what tomorrow holds. But, we know Who holds the future! We know the One, who is in control. We know the one who knows yesterday, today and tomorrow. His Name is Jesus. Because of this we can live in faith, not in fear.

Re-Gathering Service
This past Sunday we were encouraged by the increase in attendance at our Re-Gathering Worship Service. Even with bad weather, more came out to gather for worship this past Sunday than the week before.

Right now we will continue to have one service at 9am and then re-broadcast the service at 10:45am. When our attendance increases to 80% capacity, in our current Social Distancing setup, we will add an additional in person service at 10:45am. 

We encourage you to make plans to join us for worship this coming Lord’s Day. You can “Save a Seat” by going to sv.church and clicking on the “Save a Seat” button. 

We also encourage you to invite someone you know to join you this coming Sunday. Many people become more open to Jesus, and the gospel during a crisis. Remember, let’s not waste our quarantine. Let’s be God’s ambassadors and invite those we know to come and meet our Savior.

AWAKEN
This coming week, July 6-9, our Student Ministry is having their virtual camp, AWAKEN. It’s not too late for your student to become involved. You can still register by going to sv.church/students.

Fall Plans
We are working on plans for the Fall. With things continuing to change daily, this is just a little difficult. But, we are making plans with multiple contingencies.

We can say, this Fall will not look like last Fall. We will have a streamlined program due to all the uncertainties. Although the Fall will be streamlined, we are excited about what God is leading us to do. We believe we have opportunities now that we have not had in the past. We plan on focusing on these opportunities and look forward to what God is going to do in and through Severns Valley during these times. We will be giving more information about the Fall in the coming weeks.

Thank You!
Thank you for your continued support. Your encouragement to our staff through email, texting, calls and verbally are greatly appreciated. None of us have been through something like this before. 

Navigating this pandemic has not been easy. But, we are thankful for the leadership given to us through our Staff and Church Council. We are very thankful for you, our loving and supportive church family. We will get through this together. 

Let’s continue to focus on Jesus, meeting with Him daily, listening to His Spirit within us, and doing what He has called His disciples to do. If we do these things, we won’t just get through this, we will come through this stronger, having a renewed love for our church family and knowing our Savior deeply.

We love you, and look forward to seeing you this Sunday!

Your Staff and Church Council