Shavuot Outdoor Gathering, Sunday, May 31, Noon

Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks)
Sunday, May 31 Event

Hey all!

Sorry to say this, but the event is canceled due to the Minnesota Coronavirus Restrictions. We thought it was okay to have our outdoor event, but upon double-checking with the authorities, we were informed that legal action could be taken. After June 1, that would be a different matter.

We ARE planning an Issachar Community picnic for later this summer. Stay tuned for more information. Please pass the word about the cancellation.

And have a Happy Shavuot celebrating our King, His Word, and being in His kingdom!

Let us know how far our we are reaching around the globe!

We would LOVE to get to know you! If you are listening to these messages in another state or another nation, PLEASE send us an email with:

1. Your first name.
2. Your city, state or your city, nation.
3. How you heard about Issachar Community.
4. How these messages have touched your life.

Our congregation wants to thank you and pray for you!

Issachar Community Update (April 22)

UPDATE (April 22):

Hey everyone!

I hope and pray y'all are doing well under Gov. Walz's "stay at home" executive order. This is supposed to be in effect until May 4th. In cooperation with the Minnesota government, Issachar Community is not holding community services at Knox for April 25 and May 2. What happens after that depends on any extension of the order that might come down between now and then.

The issue of Constitutionality has roared across social media and the news in the interim. Here is my personal opinion (and then I'll get to the updates...or you can skip this and go to the updates...):

We have a Constitutional right to worship as we see fit and a Constitutional right to assemble as we see fit. We also have civic responsibilities.

This is not a rights OR responsibilities issue.

Rights without responsibilities is selfish and can lead to lawlessness. It is a poor witness. 

Responsibilities without rights is despotism and tyranny. Our nation shed blood to end that and prevent it from happening again by recognizing our rights as God-given and not man-granted. Surrendering our God-given rights in blind deference to government is also a poor witness.

It is a rights AND responsibilities issue.

There is a powerful tension created as rights and responsibilities pull against each other and it intensifies during times of national concern and crisis. What shall we do?

The government - state or federal - is NOT clamping down on churches and taking away worshipers' rights EXCEPT in a few isolated cases. These are being addressed properly by the judicial system. Out federal government has issued guidelines and we're following them willingly which is not a surrender of rights and is the responsible thing to do.

The state of Minnesota is not clamping down on our rights either. However, the Governor's guidelines are more restrictive and fall under an executive order. There are voices that want testing, tracking, and ticketing of those they deem "violators." This, I fear, is where the rub may occur if the coronavirus situation and the restrictions caused by it doesn't improve.

I want to be clear. As Christians, we are not surrendering our right to worship in our chosen manner or our freedom to assemble. We are co-operating with civic authorities in a responsible manner to help slow the infection rate so hospitals don't become overwhelmed by serious cases. Thank God, about 80% of the cases are light to non-symptomatic. For the others, let's pray God kills off the virus. 

Let's be good witnesses by offering help to others, watching how we respond in these times, and making sure our convictions line up with God's word.

Okay, now to the...

UPDATE (4/22):

Worship Service: Under Minnesota guidelines, we will not hold services at Knox until May 9. This may change, so watch this page. Even when we can meet together, I ask those in high-risk categories to weigh whether they should attend or not. We have the equipment and capability to live stream, but it will be in a very rudimentary way. It may be best just to post the messages online after the service. We should also continue to observe reasonable behaviors that minimize the spread of ANY infectious diseases like colds or the flu. Duh, right?

Our service order is listed on this website if you so desire to use it. Per usual, I will email the Sabbath readings and announcements and will post my message by Friday evening. You can find it at the top of the list on our podcast teaching page.

Email updates: I send out a Monday morning email update to check in with y'all to see how you are doing. The Friday email has info, the Sabbath readings, and a link to the Sabbath message. If there is anything else you want me to include, please let me know!

Passover Sheni/2nd Passover (kinda like 2nd breakfast for all you Lord of the Rings fans) was scheduled for May 7th but the stay-at-home order expiration date is too close. I didn't want us to make big plans only to shut it down on short notice. Just being prudent. We're still planning on our Shavuot celebration at Tony Schmidt park on Lake Johanna in May. Watch this space and your emails for info.

Daniel class: Yup. Still shut down until Redeeming Love Church opens their building.

Offerings: For those of you wanting to give, there is a yellow "donate" button on this website. It's over there, to the right. Go up ↑ and then 👉. It takes you to a secure Paypal page designated for Issachar Community. You can also send in your offering or wait until we can gather together again. Thanks! 

Pastoral care: If you need assistance or help in any way, please contact our office (651-247-5350 or issachar.office@gmail.com) and let us know.

Please come to this main page for future updates and announcements. Thanks!
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Passover Celebration Date Change

Due to the wise guidelines about people not gathering together so as to help slow the COVID-19 spread, Issachar Community has chosen to move our community Passover celebration to Thursday, May 7th, 6:30pm @ Knox International Center.

This is called Passover Sheni (shay-nee). There's a Torah precedent for this. In Numbers 9, the situation arose where a group of men were ritually unclean due to corpse contamination. In other words, they had touched a dead body and did not have the time to go through the cleansing process. They asked Moses, "Why should we be excluded from presenting the Lord’s offering at its appointed time with the other Israelites?" Moses went to the Lord and the Lord said,

"Tell the Israelites: When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a corpse or is on a distant journey, he may still observe the Passover to the Lord. ¹¹ Such people are to observe it in the second month, on the fourteenth day at twilight. They are to eat the animal with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; ¹² they may not leave any of it until morning or break any of its bones. They must observe the Passover according to all its statutes."

Therefore, if Passover has to be missed a second opportunity is given to celebrate it!

We're going to do that...unless restrictions continue. Then we will have to postpone until next year.

However, even if we can't celebrate it as a large community, remember this - Passover is a family-based celebration and we're already becoming more home-based right now. So celebrate away on the regular Passover with your family (sundown, Wednesday, April 8th). If you want to join our Introduction to Passover on May 7th, send the office an email with your name, contact info, and number of reservations ($18/adult, $10/children 12 and under). We will have our reservation person get in touch with you. Thanks!

Service change for 3/21, 28 per pandemic guidelines.

Hey there Issachar Community members and attendees!

Per our President’s “15 Days to Slow the Spread” we are not holding services at Knox International Center this Saturday (3/21) or next (3/28).

No, we are not closing – the Body of Christ never “closes.”

We are not canceling – the Body of Christ will never be “canceled” as Satan found out.

We are shifting our worship location (each one in their own home), but never our focus (the Lord God Almighty, the Name Above All Names)!

For good reason and reasonable measures, we encourage all IC participants to follow the Administration’s pandemic guidelines. Though you may be physically isolated for a time, we remain spiritually interconnected through the Spirit as we have been since the day of our salvation.

If you want, follow the order of our service that I sent via email. Plug in worship music (Spotify, YouTube, your own) and readings or just spend time with the Lord in worship and His Word. If you want a 1-page copy of the service, please email issachar.office@gmail.com and we’ll send it to you.

Pastor Jay’s message will be uploaded to http://issacharcommunity.podbean.com/ by Friday evening for Saturday morning.

Be wise, be well. If you have any needs, please contact the office! Thanks.