This message concerns the change in COTS’ online worship beginning this coming Sunday 5 July. If you are a local member and planning to be personally present for worship this Sunday, you don’t need to read this message (unless you want to!)
Local members not returning to physical worship at this time and our friends from out-of-town who want to continue to join us online should read this message, because we are changing the platform for connecting with us and the link associated with it.
So – here are the details for joining the worship of Church of the Savior online beginning this Sunday July 5 and continuing into the future:
1) We will livestream our worship using the online.church platform. To join us, here’s what you do:
go to https://cotsambridge.online.church. This will immediately connect you with the livestream from the sanctuary. (If you get a largely black screen that says: “Next Service – Sunday Morning Worship – Sunday July 5, 10:00 AM,” then that means we haven’t gone live yet. Just wait, and you’ll see us when we do.)
At any time during the service you can participate in the chat—to greet, share, and offer prayers and thanksgivings. To do so, click the menu button (the three horizontal lines beside the COTS logo) at the top left of the page and click “Sign Up.” This will set up your profile with us—feel free to use a profile picture so we can “see” you)! Once you’ve done that, you’ll be all set to join and participate in morning worship at that link every week! On the top right of the page, you can find links to our facebook page, past sermons, and a form that you can use to submit prayer requests or contact us more privately.
And that’s all you need to do. If during the service you run into technical issues, for this week please text Pastor Dave Ketter at 412.320.1517. As more of us are trained on the platform, we’ll let you know whom else you may contact with technical questions during the service in subsequent weeks.
2) There will be some differences from what we have experienced in recent months.
Because of the strong concerns in the scientific community, we will not be singing in our building for the time being. However, Mark and Sarah Kwolek are planning some mid-week worship events where we will combine recorded music with opportunities for prayer, testimony and teaching, using our more familiar GoToMeeting platform. Stay tuned for more details.
There will not be the same opportunity for real time verbal interaction that we have had using the GoToMeeting format. However, we can continue to use the chat function to share prayer requests and testimonies. We will have a designated “online host” in the sanctuary who will relay anything that is shared via the chat with those who are physically present so we can thank God for your testimony, and join in your prayer.
We will eventually offer Communion during our live worship- how frequently, we aren’t sure yet. It will depend on the number of people who don’t attend physically, to whom we will need to deliver the sacrament. Unfortunately, we have not yet learned how to get a computer to download consecrated bread and grape juice – so until our brightest minds come up with something, regrettably it will not be possible for our friends at a distance to receive Communion with us.
3) One further detail: By popular demand, we will continue offering our Wednesday Bible studies online at both noon and 7 p.m. These will continue to be offered through the GoToMeeting platform, using the same link that we have used previously. If you have it, you can continue to use it to log on Wednesday at either time. If not, here it is one more time: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/569677133
I can certainly understand that there may be questions. If you have any, please let me know. I’ll do my best to get you an answer.
I look forward to continuing together in the exciting adventure God has for the extension of his Kingdom through Church of the Savior – online!
in Christ alone,
Dennett