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Dear Trinity Family,

Grace and peace to you and your households in the name of Jesus Christ. In the past week, our lives and circumstances have changed dramatically as we seek to live with hope into a new normal. We have been praying for wisdom and discernment on how best to continue to be faithful disciples and witnesses.

In an effort to keep all of us safe during the Coronavirus pandemic and to “Flatten the Curve” by following the current guidelines and recommendations released from our President and the CDC on Monday afternoon to stay home, work from home when possible and to limit group sizes to 10 or less. To that end we are suspending all onsite activities: classes, groups, and events, including our onsite worship services at Trinity UMC through April 30, 2020. Our Worship services will be limited to Online Worship only via Facebook Live and our YouTube page. Also, the remainder of the Lunchtime Community Lenten Services at Green Pond UMC have been canceled.

The church office will also be closed, with our staff working from home and online. At the end of March, we will reevaluate conditions. The best way to communicate will be by email and text messages. In the event of a pastoral emergency, please call me on my cell phone at 864-414-8864.

Please continue to faithfully support our shared ministry at Trinity by giving online or mailing in your tithes and offerings. Also now available for eGiving, Trinity UMC now has a VENMO account. Our username is FITUMC. If you use Venmo and wish to give His Tithes and Your Offerings through eGiving, this is a convenient way to do so. Please be sure that you give a description, whether it be for Regular Tithes, JMMH, or another specific fund so that it can be designated correctly. Also please set your Privacy Settings to “private” before you complete your transaction.

Also, you can go to our Website and give online at Easytithe.

https://app.easytithe.com/App/Giving/trin403103

During this time of Social Distancing, we are exploring ways to connect online with you in an effort to overcome social isolation. Our online worship service will be abbreviated and streamed from a remote location. Please continue to check on those that you know are vulnerable and be the “hands and feet of Jesus.”

We will post worship songs to our Facebook account 2 times per week, on Wednesdays and on Sunday at 9 am. After Paige finishes her Worship Songs on Sunday Morning, she will invite people to hear our message immediately following on our livestream platforms: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FITUMC/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7QlY1Rn56iS8pIQKG3Khvg/featured

These songs will also be available at FITumc on Vimeo.

Molly and Bryce will be reaching out and connecting to their respective ministry groups.

I will begin offering an interactive time of devotion and prayer using Zoom beginning Thursday morning at 9 am. You are invited to download the Zoom App to your smartphone or computer ahead of time. Please email me at murray.snow@fitumc.org if you would like to participate. I will need to email you a link to participate.

The situation is dynamic and we will keep you updated as circumstances dictate.

God’s Peace and Prayers,

Murray

But now thus says the Lord,he who created you, O Jacob,he who formed you, O Israel:Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;I have called you by name, you are mine. (Isaiah 43:1)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This letter is to inform you that we have a young member who has a life-threatening food allergy to peanuts. The food allergy is severe and exposure in any form (skin contact, ingestion, or exposure through airborne particles) to this substance could result in anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal condition that requires immediate medical attention. Two incidents of exposure recently happened on our campus or at a church sponsored activity.

As many as 15 million Americans have food allergies – 4% of adults in the US and 8% of children. Eight foods account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (such as walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, and pistachios), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish. Peanut and tree nut allergies comprise the largest percentage and present unique risk (as detailed below). For these reasons, as Pastor of Trinity UMC, I covenant to work with you and our church leadership to eliminate all peanuts/tree nuts from our campus, events and outings with the exception of the James Monroe Mission House.

For the safety of all, I am asking for each of you to covenant with me and with one another by immediately instituting a no peanut and no tree nut policy (or any food source containing these ingredients) on our campus and for any events or activities on or off campus. I am asking everyone, including parents/guardians to be conscientious in the selection of snacks that you or your child or youth brings to our campus or to activities in an attempt to limit the chances of this young member being exposed to peanuts in some form. Please verify that any purchased or prepared food brought in for meals or snacks are nut free. Please instruct others, including your child or youth to watch out for the safety of their peers by being aware of this policy.

We know that this may cause some inconvenience. However, Jesus said, “When you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.” He also said to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 “That there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.”

Thank you in advance for making our campus a safe and healthy place for everyone, especially our children and youth. By working together, we can make a difference. I commit to working with you, parents/guardians and church leadership to develop a formal policy in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I ask for your understanding and cooperation as we journey to keep our young ones safe. (Please see some important FAACTS below or on the back of this letter.)

God’s Peace and Love,

Rev. Murray Snow

February 1, 2020

Food Allergy Basics

• Food allergies affect as many as 32 million Americans, including 6 million children.
• A food allergy is an immune system response to a food the body mistakenly believes is harmful.
• When a person with food allergy eats the food, his or her immune system releases massive amounts of chemicals, including histamine, that trigger a cascade of symptoms that can affect the respiratory system, the gastrointestinal tract, the skin, and/or the cardiovascular system.
• There is no cure for food allergies.
• The prevalence of food allergies appears to be increasing among children under the age of 18, that is 2 students in every classroom.
• Although food allergy desensitizations are being studied, these are not yet proven treatments, so strict avoidance is the only way to prevent an allergic reaction.
• Managing a food allergy on a daily basis involves constant vigilance.
• Trace amounts of an allergen can trigger an allergic reaction in some individuals.
• Unfortunately, food allergy deaths do occur, even among persons with a history of mild reactions in the past.
• 9-1-1 must ALWAYS be called with every anaphylactic reaction.

For more info concerning food allergies:

https://www.foodallergyawareness.org/food-allergy-and-anaphylaxis/