Dear Friends at 5C:
Thanks to Pastor Ray for his scholarly presentation on creationism! His arguments against evolutionism are backed with scientific evidence, found convincing and solid. It is incredible to see that Pastor Ray has drawn so many insights from studying the whales.
Chinese New Year is coming, and our church plans to celebrate on Sunday 2/14. Due to the spread of COVID-19 in our community, this event will be held through Zoom. Please pray for Rachel Ma who is working with Bianca Lin and others to coordinate this event.
Praise the Lord that our congregation holds steady in faith and life in the midst of the pandemic. Last Monday, small group leaders got together to review the progress of small group ministry in our church. Thanks to those group leaders who faithfully serve their members and meet their needs in this challenging time. It is our hope that small groups will care for members’ spiritual wellbeing while meeting people’s social needs. In return, this ministry will eventually become the backbone of the church infrastructure. Currently, about 80% of our regular members attend at least one of small groups including English prayer meeting, which is held once a month.
We had some good news about COVID-19 vaccines last week, two more vaccines show strong efficacy in late-phase clinical trials. It is very likely that both will receive FDA approval in next month or two. The vaccine from Johnson & Johnson needs only one shot while another vaccine from Novavax shows the similar efficacy against the Wuhan virus strain as mRNA vaccines. Interestingly this is the first time that scientists take a look at clinical data showing how effective these vaccines work against the variants of this deadly virus. The good news is that both vaccines still provide some sort of protection, but the level of effectiveness has been reduced dramatically.
Now we are in a deadly race between the virus and vaccines, the sooner we reach herd immunity before these variants become widely spread in the community, the better chance we have to take this pandemic under our control. For this reason, it is encouraged for all to take one of these vaccines when you become eligible to receive the shots.
Please continue to pray for those who contracted COVID-19. Beng Lim was discharged from hospital last week, now recovering at home. In addition to Loan’s mother, Loan’s sister was also infected with COVID-19. Pray for their speedy recovery.
Ministry Update:
- Church prayer meeting (in Chinese) is scheduled at 7:30pm every Thursday
- English prayer meeting is scheduled at 7:30pm Thursday 2/4
- Pastor Chen’s virtual office hours is scheduled at 10:00am-12:00pm every Friday
- Small group “Love” will meet at 7:30pm Sunday 2/7 through Zoom
- Chinese Sunday school (Ling Jiao) and English Sunday school (Anna Ho)
- Monthly deacons meeting is scheduled at 1:00pm Sunday 2/14
- Our church will hold a special program to celebrate Chinese New Year on 2/14
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the Coronavirus outbreak in the US and around the world
- Pray for physical and spiritual well-being of our church members
- Pray for new small groups formed recently in our church
- Pray for those who contracted COVID-19, Lim’s family, Loan’s mother and sister
- Pray for expecting mother- Crystal Cui
- Pray for Lydia Anderson’s resurgent brain tumor
- Pray for Annie’s sister and Anderson’s brother for Parkinson’s disease, Ed Sherman’s son Lane for brain tumor
Look forward to seeing you virtually on Sunday.
Blessings!
親愛的中岸教會朋友們:
感謝上主日裴牧師有關神創論的學術證道!這些駁斥進化論的論點具備堅實的科學依據,非常有說服力。裴牧師居然可以從研究鯨魚中獲得如此多的見解,實在令人驚嘆。
農歷新年快到了,教會計劃在 2/14 日舉行特別崇拜活動。由於新冠病毒在社區中的傳播,此活動將通過 Zoom 舉行。請為馬若曦姐妹祈禱,她正在與張西齡姐妹等人籌備此次活動。
感謝主,我們的會眾能在疫情當中,繼續保持穩定的信仰生活。上週一,所有的小組長聚在一起,回顧了教會小組事工的進展。感謝這些小組領袖,在這個充滿挑戰的時期,忠實地為弟兄姐妹服務,並滿足大家生活上的需求。我們希望,各小組在滿足人們社交需求的同時,也照顧到會眾的屬靈健康。這樣的話,小組事工終將成為教會基本結構的中堅力量。目前,大約 80%的教會成員參加至少一個小組,其中包括每月一次的英語禱告會。
上週我們收到了一些有關新冠疫苗的好消息,另外兩種疫苗的後期臨床試驗,顯示出很好的防護能力。這兩種疫苗很可能在下一兩個月獲得FDA 的批准。強生製藥的疫苗僅需一次注射,而諾瓦瓦克斯公司的疫苗,對武漢病毒株的有效性可與 mRNA 疫苗相媲美。有意思的是,這是科學家第一次得到臨床數據,顯示疫苗是否抵禦變異病毒的侵襲。好消息是兩種疫苗仍可以提供保護,但有效性已大大降低。現在,我們正處於病毒和疫苗之間的致命競賽中,在這些變異病毒廣泛傳播到社區之前,我們越早達到群體免疫,就越有可能控制住這種傳染病。因此,鼓勵所有人在可以接受注射時,儘快接種其中一種疫苗。
請繼續為那些感染新冠病毒的人祈禱。林明源弟兄上週已出院,現正在家中恢復。除了謝嬌鸞姐妹的母親外,她的妹妹也已確診。祈求她們早日康復。
事工更新:
- 中文禱告會將於每週四晚間 7 點半舉行
- 英文禱告會將於 2/4 本週四晚間 7 點半舉行
- 陳牧師辦公時間為每週五上午 10 點至 12 點
- 『仁愛』小組 2 月 7 日週日晚間 7 點半線上聚會
- 本週中文主日學由焦玲姐妹帶領,英文主日學由周敏儀姐妹带領
- 執事會議將於 2 月 14 日下午 1 點舉行
- 教會將於 2 月 14 日舉行春節特別崇拜
禱告事項
- 為美國及世界各地的新冠肺炎的爆發
- 為我們教會所有成員的身體及屬靈健康
- 為教會新組建的各個小組
- 為確診了新冠肺炎的林家人和謝嬌鸞姐妹的母親和妹妹祈禱
- 為待產的崔琳姐妹祈禱
- 為馮慶芳姐妹復發性腦瘤及後續的治療祈禱
- 為裴師母姐姐和林恩深弟兄的哥哥祈禱,他們正在遭受帕金森的
困擾;為 Ed Sherman 的兒子 Lane 祈禱,他正在接受腦瘤治療
期待週日線上見
主僕 陳金昌