God Has Been Merciful To Us in Christ. We Want To Be Merciful Toward One Another and Our Neighbors

If you or your neighbors are facing medical, financial, food-related or any other kind of challenges due to the coronavirus outbreak, here’s your one-stop shop of resources available to residents of Santa Ana and throughout Orange County.

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Medical Assistance

• COVID-19 Health Referral Hotline - 800-564-8448

The Orange County Health Care Agency has established a Health Referral Hotline to call if you suspect you have COVID-19 symptoms.

• Orange County Healthcare Agency - COVID-19 “What you should know” - http://cms.ocgov.com/gov/health/phs/about/epidasmt/epi/dip/prevention/novel_coronavirus.asp

Contains daily updates on the spread of and response to COVID-19 within Orange County as well as other additional resources and informational graphics and flyers.

Financial Assistance

• Rental/Utility Assistance - Salvation Army of OC - 714-384-0481 

Santa Ana Office - 1710 West Edinger Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92703

Other cities served: Fullerton, La Habra, Yorba Linda, Brea, Placentia, Buena Park - 714-451-8080

Anaheim and Villa Park - 714-783-2344

• Rental/Utility Assistance - Share Our Selves - 949-270-2100 - https://www.shareourselves.org/services/financial-assistance/

For those who have experienced job-layoffs or a reduction in hours/pay:

• CA Unemployment - General Number & Website - English 1-800-300-5616 - Spanish 1-800-326-8937 https://www.edd.ca.gov/unemployment/. Representatives are available at the following toll-free numbers, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 noon (Pacific time) except on state holidays.

To file a claim online: https://edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/Filing_a_Claim.htm

• CA Unemployment COVID-19 Specific Resources: Disability insurance for those off due to COVID-19 due to mandatory quarantine or unpaid sick/get better time after having the COVID-19.

To connect to claims: https://edd.ca.gov/about_edd/coronavirus-2019.htm 

Frequently Asked Questions: https://edd.ca.gov/about_edd/coronavirus-2019/faqs.htm 

• Disaster Loans for Small Businesses - https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/

• Labor & Workforce Development Agency – Information regarding: Paid Sick Leave, Disability and Unemployment Insurance, Paid Family Leave, Workplace Health and Safety Guidance, Employer Assistance, CA Department of Public Health, & Common Sense Tips for Staying Healthy - https://www.labor.ca.gov/coronavirus2019/

Food/Grocery Assistance

• Santa Ana Food Pantries - https://www.211oc.org/food/groceries.html

  • El Sol Academy - 714-543-0023 -1002 North Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92701

    • Email mercado@elsolacademy.org for detailed information 

  • First Presbyterian Church of Santa Ana - 714-542-7253 - 600 North Main St, Santa Ana, CA 92701

    • 10am-3pm, Tuesday-Thursday

• Grab & Go Meals - Free lunch and at many locations, even breakfast are offered to all students 18-and-under at multiple school in most Orange County school districts - https://na0.icarol.info/resourceview2.aspx?First=1&country=United%20States&sp=CA&county=Orange&city=-1&org=2287&agencynum=67353452

General Services

Dial 2-1-1 to be linked to any of the following services: 

• Women, infants and children (WIC) help

• Food and food stamps

• Homeless shelters

• Substance abuse

• Prenatal care

• Help with housing assistance

• Help with utilities

• Emergency housing

• 24-hour crisis, suicide help and suicide counseling

• Mental health services

• Food distribution

• Access to healthcare

• Medical, dental help and vision clinics

• Government assistance programs

• Transportation assistance

• Elder services

• Nutrition assistance

• Help for low-income families

• Other youth and child care issues

• Other physical and mental health services

Jeff Schlieder has been serving for the past 8 months as the first intern at Sovereign Grace Church of Santa Ana. The role he’s occupied is one which serves the purpose of evaluation - it’s a period when the church has the opportunity to watch and experience a person’s gifting in order to determine how God might be calling that individual to serve a particular role in the church. We’ve wondered if God has called Jeff to be a pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Santa Ana. And we believe it’s a task given to the local church to assess the calling and gifting of a potential pastor.

One More Week to Submit Your Feedback On Jeff’s Internship

So far, we’ve heard nothing but positive feedback. We’re grateful to God for the work that seems to be evidenced in his life. However, we won’t assume we’ve heard everything from you. Before Jeff is proceeded on to the next stage of being positioned as a leader in our church, we’re giving you a final opportunity to provide your assessment of his leadership, character and influence in the church. Maybe it’s nothing but good and providing evidence of God’s grace. If so, go ahead and tell us. We want to be prudent where we need to be prudent and celebrate where we can celebrate.

Your Thoughts Can be Submitted Through This Form.

The Offering Plate During an Outbreak

Is it really that simple? Yes, but how do you do it? Read the brief instructions below or watch this video tutorial

1. Text any amount to 84321 (for example $10)

2. If you would like to donate specifically to our Santa Ana Neighbor Relief Fund- you would text Amount ($10) Santa Ana Neighbor Relief Fund.

3. If you have not used Text-to-give before, you will receive a Welcome message and be prompted to set up an account which includes, creating a profile, selecting a church & adding a payment method. 

Fill Your Home with the Songs We Sing on Sundays

Some of you may now be working remotely from home. Others may now have home filled with children who are normally at school. Still others may still have to go into work every day. Our hearts are filled with many different emotions.

Mike Alvarez, our worship leader, has created and maintains a Spotify playlist complete with the entire repertoire of songs we sing as a church. Why should you spend this time listening to this playlist? Because the songs are good, theologically rich songs that remind you of the Gospel, teach you God’s truth, give articulation to the joy God has created in your heart and inform your prayers.

Check out our playlist here.

Each Friday Until Church Life Returns To Normal

This Friday, we won’t be meeting in small groups in-person. However, until our church calendar normalizes and we’re allowed to meet together again, we’ll conduct a 1-hour zoom call to receive a brief update from one another and pray together for one another and for our neighbors.

Please Make This a Priority On Your Calendar

The call-in information for this call is listed below:

Call in online or with the app: https://zoom.us/j/6583688098 (Meeting ID: 658 368 8098)

Call in on your phone without the app or internet: +16699009128,,6583688098# US

We Asked You To Send Us Your Prayer Requests

Thank you for responding and sending them. We’re so used to knowing one another’s needs through experiencing regular fellowship. We talk to one another on Sunday morning. We share life together at small group. We host one another in our homes. We can’t do any of that right now. It’s important to know, however, how to pray for one another and to ask the Lord to guide us, sustain us and encourage us each individually in this season. Here are the prayer requests from this past week (anonymity is maintained):

1. PRAYING THAT GOD MAY USE THIS TIME TO PREPARE US AS A CHURCH AND KEEP US UNITED THROUGH THE UNEXPECTED. KEEPING FOCUS ON HIM BY WHOM WE WERE CALLED.

2. There would be enough food/supplies in the stores for those who do not have enough money to stock up.

3. All the families in our church would not catch the virus 

4. My own personal anxiety- I have never had anxiety in my life and I started feeling chest pains and anxiety that is probably related to the hysteria 

5. My prayer request would be how I can help out more during this time of uncertainty for so many people. We have the hope of the Gospel, the return of Jesus to look forward to and therefore need not fear death. Others in our community and some our loved ones who don’t know Jesus don’t have that luxury. I want to be more in the community by doing something tangible during this time and not sure where to start. Prayer in this regard would be greatly appreciated. :)

6. Pray for our son Sam and fiancée Veronica who are planning their wedding In 2weeks. Pray that the corona virus wouldn’t ruin their plans.

7. Pray for my mother as she’s experienced a heart scare and is now recovering from a pacemaker implant

Keep Sending Prayer Requests to prayers@sovgracesantaana.org.

Our City is Affected In Many Ways

The COVID-19 virus is affecting everyone in our city in many different ways. We wanted to provide a list of ways that you can help our community during this time.

1) Prayer. The best thing we can do for our neighbors is to pray for them during this chaotic time. This requires knowing what their needs are. Are they reeling from trying to figure out how to manage their schedule with their kids now at home full time? Are they worrying about losing their job? Have they been sent home from work with no sick/vacation pay? Are they worried and anxious about the future? Are they running low on groceries?

2) Support Small Businesses: Many DTSA businesses rely on the visitors they get during the day. Consider buying a giftcard or ordering food for pick up to support them in this season, while practicing social distancing. Downtown Santa Ana’s Facebook page, is a great place to stay up to date on local businesses.

3) Check on your neighbors. Send them a message or give them a call and let them know you are happy to help them if needed.

4) Lastly, stay up to date. Things are changing every day- to stay up to date on the happenings in our city we recommend following them on social media or checking out the city’s website here.

To learn about school closures, click here.

With Coronavirus News Developing Quickly Each Week, Our Church Calendar Must Adapt

Krista, our church admin, is working hard to keep our calendar updated by the day. If you want to be sure you have the most updated calendar information, head to the website and subscribe to our church calendar here.

Reminder: All In-Person Meetings Have Been Cancelled at Least Through The End of March

This includes our in-person small group meetings this week, our Sunday service and the Picnic in the Promenade.

Subscribe to the Church Calendar here.

Keep Sending Pictures of Your Household Worshipping Together

This was our first Sunday apart from each other. We missed you terribly. We’re grateful to the Lord, though, for modern technological advances that allow us to worship together despite the inability to meet in person. Thank you for sending photos and videos of your household worshipping together to photos@sovgracesantaana.org. We loved seeing them. This will be what services look like for at least another few weeks, so keep sending them along to remind your brothers and sisters of the voices that are joining together with them as we sing, listen and pray on Sunday mornings. Take a look at a few photos from this first livestream Sunday.

If you missed tuning into the first livestream, you can listen to this week’s sermon here.

Thank you for spending your Sunday morning with us online. It was different, but it was sweet nonetheless knowing that our church was singing, listening and praying together from a distant. During the service, we promised you a more comprehensive update. Here’s what you should expect for the foreseeable future:

All In-Person Church Gatherings Cancelled Through The End of March

This includes Sunday gatherings, small groups, men’s and women’s meetings, picnics in the promenades and informal times together. That also means that our services will be live-streamed for at least the next two Sundays and likely even the next three or four. This is difficult for us. We love you. We miss you. We know you feel the same and that the longing to be together again will only intensify.

Yesterday, we heard from Christopher Erkelens that Paul instructs his readers to “live quietly”. In other words, God calls us to “a rebellion of peace”. Paul was writing to a church who existed in a morally tumultuous time and place and encourages them to live the “mundane” Christian life of trusting God, loving God, working with your hands, loving one another and loving neighbors. In the midst of a different kind of tumultuous time, God nevertheless calls us to “live quietly” when a virus threatens our patterns and rhythms of life.

So … how do we as Sovereign Grace Church of Santa Ana “live quietly” together during this season? Let us suggest 5 ways:

1. Share Your Needs With One Another

   You’ve already heard the instruction to send your prayer requests in to prayers@sovgracesantaana.org. Thank you to those who have done so. Go ahead and continue to send them. We’ll pray (anonymously) every Sunday for the specific needs of our members. Don’t limit it to just sending a weekly prayer request email, though. We have text messaging and Slack. Share your needs with your small group. Seek one another’s counsel on decisions you’re facing. Continue to live in the community in the absence of physical community.

2. Carry Your Neighbors’ Needs With Them

   Your neighbors are scared. They might be afraid of running out of food. They might feel vulnerable to the virus. They might be anxious about the economy. They might have been laid off from work. Their kids’ school may have been cancelled and now they’re lacking childcare. This is a uniquely wonderful time to carry the burdens of our neighbors with them. Ask them how you can pray for them. Ask them if there are any tangible ways you can help them. Love them fiercely during this season.

3. Read At Least One “Book of the Month”

   For the last 8 months, we have recommended one book every month for your spiritual growth and reading enjoyment. You may or may not be a reader, but reading an instructive book is a great way to spend some of the extra downtime you might find yourself with over the next few weeks.

4. Revive Your Devotional Life

   One of the wonders of the Gospel is that through the blood of Christ, we’ve been reconciled to God. We have a relationship with Him that’s so close that His Spirit is living within us. In other words, though we can’t be together with one another, you cannot be separated from God’s presence. Press into your relationship with Him through prayer. Pick up your Bible and renew your discipline of daily Bible reading. Memorize Scripture. Use this time well to strengthen your fellowship with Christ in the absence of in-person fellowship with one another.

5. Celebrate Your Experience of God’s Grace - #peaceinsantaana

   Use social media well. Take pictures of how you’re “living quietly” as a follower of Christ in these days. Catalogue your “rebellion of peace”. Send pictures to photos@sovgracesantaana.org or out them to social media and use the hashtag #peaceinsantaana.

This is going to turn out well, friends. We’ll experience God’s grace in fresh new ways. We can’t wait to be back together with you. Until then, enjoy your rebellion of peace.