Dear TVLC family,

At last night’s meeting the TVLC council made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend in-person worship services, including Christmas Eve. We do so in response to the heartfelt pleas from our hospitals and community health workers who are facing overflowing ICUs and running out of beds. We hear their weariness and their desire to care for those who are impacted by the disease. And we want to respond in love and do our part as a church to help reduce the spread of the virus in our community.

There is no question that on many levels, this will not be Christmas as usual for any of us. Feelings of disappointment, anger, and loss are understandable. At the same time, this year presents the opportunity for us to connect with the story of Jesus’ birth in new ways. God chose to enter our world without much fanfare, in a small town, among ordinary people. To say that the first Christmas went according to anyone’s plan would be a stretch, and yet this was the way God chose to meet us.

We trust that whatever our celebrations look like this year, our Messiah will meet us. And we look forward to moving forward in the coming months, strengthened by the hope we have in Jesus, and led by the Holy Spirit into the new future that God has for us.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Josh, Pastor Stephen, and the TVLC Council

Read the joint letter from the Pima County Health Department, county hospitals, and county fire districts.