Marti pointed out that my title yesterday might have been a bit misleading. “Germ-free community” sounds so sterile and so perfect. “Look at us; we’re all germ-free!” I can see that title might have given that impression. That, of course, was not my intent. All I meant was that since our community is online and not in person, we are safe from spreading or catching any bugs around us. In truth, in relation to our sinfulness and our need for Jesus, we are actually a lot closer to being considered germ-ridden, pathogenic scum bags whom God loves somehow!

That’s why everyone is so welcome here. We are far from being perfect, in fact, perfection is not even what we are after. We are after being carriers of the grace of God, who has been gracious to us by receiving us into His family through the forgiveness of our sins so that we can offer that same grace free to anyone, regardless of their sin, which is why we call our message the gospel of welcome.

We are learning to hug each other in ways other than physical so we are already adaptable to this new “social-distancing.” We can hug without leaving our computers or our mobile phones. We are experiencing a kind of intimacy in the virtual world that eludes some people in the real world who may have issues being honest because of fear of judgment or gossip. When you are outside everyone’s social loop, honesty is much easier.

We are committed to helping everyone get through this difficult, unprecedented time of fear, suspicion and uncertainty. None of us has ever been here before so we are feeling our way along. One thing we are going to do here at the Catch is increase our opportunity for interaction. We are looking at this as a great opportunity to bring our community together and stretch the possibilities of the technology available. Each day it seems there is more we learn about what can be done online to more effectively share our lives and help one another grow in Christ.

Case in point, tomorrow night at 6 pm PDT we will hold our first ever online, interactive Wednesday night Bible study using the Zoom platform that will accommodate up to 100 guests who will join me in a video conferencing format where we can basically all do FaceTime together as if we were in the same room. I can’t wait to see you “face-to-face.” Look for instructions on how to join us in tomorrow’s Catch or on our Facebook page at <www.facebook.com/thecatch>.

An Open Letter from our Prayer Pastor

Greetings from the Prayer Warriors. As the Prayer Pastor I would like to personally write and thank you for giving us the opportunity to pray with each one of you boldly, specifically, and fervently. We want you to know that we stand on the front lines in prayer because we are called to do so. And we answered that call gleefully. It is our great joy to pray on your behalf.

Some of you may be thinking you don’t deserve prayer because of some past or present aspect of your life. God has you covered. John 3:16.

It may surprise you, but I wasn’t born a Pastor. And I’m not perfect. Please don’t tell my wife. We have only been married 23 years and she might not have figured that out yet. I’m so thankful for prayer.

Maybe you can’t afford to give anything this week or month or ever. Don’t worry. Jesus has you covered. Smile!  John 3:16.

Maybe things are going absolutely great for you. We want to pray with you too. I’ve heard so many people say that their prayer needs were not as important as the homeless person down the street. Guess what? Prayer is not only available to everyone no matter how desperately poor you are or how wealthy you might think you are. But God wants to hear even the smallest, tiniest prayer from you, and so do we.

Prayer is free. Prayer is how we form our trusted relationship with God. It is our humble hope that you will trust us enough to join us in prayer before the Throne of Grace.  It would be both an honor and a privilege.

Prayerfully Yours,

Mervin Keck