Dear Friends at 5C:
As more vaccine doses are administered each day, people may wonder what they can do under the protection of these highly effective vaccines. Today CDC issues the new guidelines for those who are fully vaccinated. The message is clear: we still have to take great caution when we interact with one another. Now local governments are racing to lower their safety measures, for some states, masking is no longer a requirement in public. I believe that this is premature since the pandemic is far from over. Now the case number in the US is down more than 70% from the peak, but it has been remaining around 50-70k for the last two weeks. It is not surprising to see another spike if people continue to lower their safety guard. Please keep in mind that no vaccines can provide you 100% protection against COVID-19, especially when many variants have become dominant in our neighborhood.
Recently another ethical question comes to the surface about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine since they are using fetal cell lines in their mass production. Some religious leaders voice against this vaccine while others hold that it is permissible to receive it. Both Pfizer and Moderna do not use fetal cell lines to produce the vaccines, and the same is true for Novavax. However, this has become an issue for J&J and Astra-Zeneca. These fetal tissues were taken from the abortion in the ’50s to harvest the viruses needed for medical purposes. Since then, cell lines have been multiplied for many generations and become the standard for the vaccine industry. In another word, the currently used cells are produced as clones, not the original fetal tissue cells.
In my opinion, if someone takes the vaccines to protect themself, his or her loved ones, and the community, this person is not counted in participating in the sin of abortion. Therefore, believers are free to take any vaccines available to them. However, if someone feels uneasy to take such vaccines, please take another one instead. In either case, I hope that all of us will have peace from God without the feeling of guilt and pressure of judging by others. If you have further questions about this issue, please talk to the Pastor.
Pastor Chen will be in the church this weekend. If you would like to see the Pastor in person, you may visit the church office Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.
Ministry Update:
- Church prayer meeting (in Chinese) is scheduled at 7:30 pm every Thursday
- Pastor Chen will be in the church office this Friday afternoon (3/12) and Saturday morning (3/13)
- Small group “Goodness” will meet at 7:30 pm Wednesday 3/10 through Zoom
- Daylight saving time begins this Sunday 3/14. Please turn your clock one hour forward on Saturday night
- Chinese Sunday school (Dulcie Wu) and English Sunday school (Anna Ho)
- Brother Anderson Lin will preach on Sunday 3/14
- The monthly deacons meeting is scheduled at 1:00 pm Sunday 3/14
- Our church will hold the Good Friday service at 7:30pm on Friday, 4/2
- Our church will hold the Easter service at 11:00am on Sunday 4/4
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the Coronavirus outbreak in the US and around the world
- Pray for the physical and spiritual well-being of our church members
- Pray for small groups formed recently in our church
- Pray for Raymond Wu’s surgery to heal his back pain on March 23.
- Pray for Lim’s family for their funeral arrangement for Brother Beng Lim
- 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:
隨著每天接種疫苗數量的增多,人們可能會想知道在這些高效疫苗的保護下他們能做什麼。今天,疾控中心為完全接種疫苗的人發布了新指南,明確表示:彼此互動時,我們仍須格外小心。現在,地方政府正爭相降低安全措施。某些州,甚至在公眾場合不再需要戴口罩。我想這為時過早,因為疫情遠未結束。美國確診病例比最高峰時下降了 70%之多,但過去兩週仍有在五萬至七萬人感染。如果人們繼續降低防護措施,恐怕再見高峰,也不足為奇。請謹記,沒有任何疫苗可以為您提供百分之百的保護,尤其是當許多變異病毒在社區傳播漸居主流的時候。
最近,關於強生公司疫苗的道德問題浮出水面,因為他們正在大規模生產中使用胚胎細胞株。一些宗教領袖反對接種這種疫苗,而另一些則認為可以接受。輝瑞公司、莫德纳公司及诺瓦瓦克斯公司都沒有使用胚胎細胞株生產疫苗。但是,這確實是強生和阿斯利康疫苗生產之中的問題,這些胎兒組織是從 50 年代流產手術中獲得的,以供醫學研究所用。從那時起,細胞株已經繁殖了許多代,並成為疫苗行業的操作標準。換句話說,當前使用的細胞是克隆的,而不是原始的胎兒組織細胞。
最近,關於強生公司疫苗的道德問題浮出水面,因為他們正在大規模生產中使用胚胎細胞株。一些宗教領袖反對接種這種疫苗,而另一些則認為可以接受。輝瑞公司、莫德纳公司及诺瓦瓦克斯公司都沒有使用胚胎細胞株生產疫苗。但是,這確實是強生和阿斯利康疫苗生產之中的問題,這些胎兒組織是從 50 年代流產手術中獲得的,以供醫學研究所用。從那時起,細胞株已經繁殖了許多代,並成為疫苗行業的操作標準。換句話說,當前使用的細胞是克隆的,而不是原始的胎兒組織細胞。
陳牧師這個週末將會在教會辦公。如果您想親自面見牧師，請於週五下午及週六上午與陳牧師聯繫。
事工更新:
1. 中文禱告會將於每週四晚間 7 點半舉行
2. 陳牧師本週辦公時間為週五下午及週六上午
3. 『良善』小組 3 月 10 日週三晚間 7 點半線上聚會
4. 夏令時將於下週日 3 月 14 日開始。請於週六晚將時鐘調快一個小時
5. 本週中文主日學將由王迪裕姐妹帶領，英文主日學由周敏儀姐妹帶領
6. 本主日 3 月 14 日將由林恩深弟兄講道
7. 本週日下午一點有執事會議﹐請為教會領袖禱告
8. 教會將於 4 月 2 日週五晚間 7 點半舉行耶穌受難日聚會
9. 復活節崇拜於 4 月 4 日上午 11 點舉行
禱告事項
1. 為美國及世界各地的新冠肺炎的爆發
2. 為我們教會所有成員的身體及屬靈健康
3. 為教會新組建的各個小組
4. 求主通過 3 月 23 日的手術治愈胡其健弟兄的背痛
5. 為林家人準備林明源弟兄的葬禮祈禱
6. 為馮慶芳姐妹復發性腦瘤及後續的治療祈禱
7. 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