BLAZE CHURCH UPDATES ON CORONAVIRUS

Dear Church Family,

We had the privilege to be on the phone with New York State government officials and almost 200 other faith community leaders. The purpose was to inform faith communities with the facts about the Coronavirus, so we can take wise action steps.

You may have heard that as of right now, there is a state-mandated ban on gatherings that exceed 500 people in one space. This does not affect us at Blaze Church.

However, for spaces that hold 0-499 persons, the term that is being used is social distancing. This means that we would only fill our space to 50% capacity, to provide adequate "elbow room." 

Updates are constantly coming. And we are connected directly to government officials to ensure we get real updates, in real-time. As of right now, this is the course of action NYS is enforcing. Which means, we are planning to gather this weekend at all of our normal service times: 9am + 10:15am + 11:30am. As things are constantly evoloving, we will keep you informed should anything change.

We are advising, that you should remain home and join us on Facebook Live if:

• You are 65 years of age or older

• Your immune system is weak 

• You have a chronic respiratory illness

• You are experiencing any sickness symptons

If you are overwhelmed right now with all of the news, and fear is creeping in, join us online! You are family! God has a plan for you! We love you! There is no judgment for joining us from the comfort of your home! We believe that perfect love cast out all fear; you will experience that perfect love from wherever you join us from! 

We want to make sure you are aware of the different approaches we have to keep you connected to everything you are used to at Blaze Church:

Sunday Services
We stream all of our services live on Facebook every week. Our videos remain on Facebook for you to engage in at any time. We also upload our messages to YouTube. And you can subscribe to our podcast as well.

Giving
We say it every week: We are a radically generous church! Whether we meet in person or not, whether our doors are open or not: We don't have to give; we get to give!

Currently, 42% of our giving comes through the form of cash or check at our physical church location. If the state were to mandate that we could not meet for a few weeks, imagine the impact this would have on our vision to keep blazing the way for people to know God! 

You can begin giving online here. We are also encouraging you to make the shift to Online Recurring Giving. This ensures the continuation of our mission with little to no disruptions in our church budget. 

Pastoral Care
We do not want anyone to feel alone during this time. If you or someone you know is having trouble economically, with child care due to school closures, or simply needs encouragement, we are here!

Our group leaders have been trained to provide pastoral care. If you are connected to a group, your group leader is praying for you and is ready to respond. You can always connect with us by sending an email or calling the church office. 


We believe in the power of God! We do not walk in fear; we will walk in wisdom to be prepared to care for our church family and our community. 

Be encouraged with this truth: "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior" (2 Samuel 22:2-3)

Blaze Beyond,
Pastors Keith & Amy Indovino