by Pastor Tim White

Dear Washington Cathedral and friends,

I have been praying without ceasing for your health and safety. And like all of you, I am praying for our community and the world as we fight this Covid19 pandemic. Yes, it is a serious fight.

Fighting a potent viral infection can be life-threatening. I pray that we laugh, trust, and care for one another--biblical concepts, known to strengthen our immune system. We are all appropriately alert, but I pray that we do not give in to panic and fear. We need to focus on the fact that God is in control and will be our redeemer.

It is with much prayer that our staff has been discussing our church response to this epidemic. The World Health Organization has just declared Covid19 a pandemic, saying it is going to get worse before it gets better. After hearing Governor Inslee’s announcement on banning meetings over 250, and how impactful this pandemic is continuing to be for our community, we have prayerfully decided to only do virtual services online until the governmental ban is lifted, and close our building in the meantime.

I knew that our attendance would drop below 250 just because of the individual response to this pandemic. But, after much prayer, we discussed how fast infections move through our church and we don’t want to risk anyone’s life. Therefore, our response is clear. We want to do the right thing for our church family.

At the same time, I must tell you that the impact of the corona virus could potentially remake the landscape of churches in our community. Churches of every size are going to be impacted.

We will continue to live stream the services, including Good Friday and Easter services. And we pray that the good hearts of our people will continue with online giving and tithing. If you need help on how to join us via live stream on Facebook Live, please call either email info@wacathedral.org or call the church office and set a call time with one of our staff who will help you set it up on your smartphone, tablet or computer.

Remember our new ministry to help our church members who are shut-in because of their health concerns or illness. So, stay in contact with your church by emailing us at GetHelp@wacathedral.org.

Bottom line is we will be more than conquerors in response to this time of challenge. God will help us and we will help others. This caring network was created for such a time as this.

Let’s stay in touch.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

PS – As I have mentioned before, these times can be tough for the church financially. A majority of our weekly income still comes from the giving that is done at the church when people attend services. With needing to go to a digital service at this time, that eliminates a good portion of our weekly income to meet our ongoing budget. For the 30-40% who already give online or through other electronic methods, thank you so much for that. For those who give during the offering time at church, we are asking you to please consider giving online or through your financial institutions electronic bill pay system. This will allow our ministries to continue through these tough times. If you need help setting up online giving, please contact Pastor Linda at 425-830-7101. She is happy to help you through the process. Online giving can be done through credit card, debit card or eCheck.