Nicole’s e-Pistle
January 8, 2025
Greetings, friends!
The Jiskoots have returned from a wonderful (but very warm and muggy) Christmas vacation with family in Florida and are now preparing for a couple of snow days in beautiful Dalton, Georgia! Layfe and Lovinia were able to see snow flurries from the windows in Hollis Hall on Monday as they spent the day shadowing Mommy at work, so we are more than a little excited at the prospect of making snowballs on Friday!
That being said, I have been tasked with making the call whether we will need to close the church due to the inclement weather. I confess that this Florida girl feels far less confident about preparing for freezing rain and icy roads than I do in preparing for a category 4 or 5 hurricane. Still, I have an amazing team of people ready to step in and get us all safely through the weekend.
Many people are anticipating the closing of schools in Dalton and Whitfield County on Friday. Should that happen, the church office will close as well. As a precaution, Erin has been doing a fabulous job of getting things ready in advance, especially in getting the bulletins printed ahead of time for Worship on Sunday and putting some additional information into the Midweek News about contingency plans.
As for Sunday worship, Hye Jeong is to be commended for her flexibility as I navigate the “what ifs” for putting together a back-up plan should we need to cancel services. For now, we will keep watching the weather throughout the week and early weekend, and by Saturday afternoon-ish, with the help of some trusted native Daltonians, I will make the call about whether it is safe to invite people to Worship in person on Sunday morning.
If conditions allow us to keep our regularly scheduled service, 2nd Sunday luncheon, Blessing Bags assembly, and Connections Team meeting, then there will be no announcement or change on the Facebook page or via email. (No news is good news!) However, if it looks to be too icy for folks to travel to the church safely, Erin will update the Facebook page and send out an additional church-wide email sometime Saturday evening. Plus, our very own Walter Jones will graciously brave the conditions on Sunday morning to take phone calls at the church for those who may have lost internet connection and cannot access email or Facebook. If the internet-based church phone service is also down, Walter will also be available on his cell phone.
If you feel the least bit concerned about venturing out on Sunday morning, please stay safe in the warmth of your homes. Also, if you find that you need something, please reach out to each other or to me. We have a community of people who care deeply for one another for this very purpose! Whatever comes of Sunday, know that God’s grace and mercy abounds. As Julian of Norwich said, “…all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”
Blessings and peace,
