“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.” – 2 Corinthians 4:8-11
Beloved of God,
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow! We did it together! Our first IN-PERSON WORSHIP on August 29 went smoothly and without a hitch! This was due in no small part to the hours of preparatory work put in by members of our Live Stream, Safe Opening, Worship Teams and other volunteers over the last month—not to mention the Holy Spirit brooding over, with, and through us. Many thanks to every person whose care and labors both behind the scenes and in front contributed to making this day special! As I said on Sunday, this is but the first step in what we hope will become a steady march toward renewing the ways of being together that we were forced to abandon 18 mos. ago. The body of Christ known as Peace is not yet whole, and the coronavirus is not yet in the rearview mirror, but in spite of this, our congregation remains dedicated to its mission; RESILIENT, DETERMINED, and STRONG! Thanks be to God!
For the time being we will continue to limit worship attendance to 75 persons and use a SIGN-UP PLATFORM as a means for you to RESERVE YOUR SPACE each Sunday. We’re asking you to RESERVE YOUR PLACE FOR WORSHIP BY THURSDAY @ 4pm each week. (NOTE: If you plan to come to worship alone and are willing to SHARE your half of the pew with one additional person or couple, you can indicate this on the reservation form. This will allow us to admit more individuals while maintaining the 3ft. physical distance protocol.) In consultation with other synod congregations, the Worship Team has been working on a method for distributing Holy Communion safely. We look forward to celebrating Holy Communion during worship later this month. Stay tuned for the exact date, which will be communicated as soon as it is certain.
As we continue to live stream our IN-PERSON services, there are other considerations. For example, those attending on-Person may see their face or image showing up in the live stream recording. If you sign up for In-Person worship, we want you to be aware of that. We want those at home to have the experience of being among the worshipping community in the sanctuary. This means not only showing our worship leaders on screen but other participants. By signing up for In-Person worship, you are consenting to being part of the live stream recording, and it’s important that you are aware of this fact.
Many of you know that recently the Church Council allocated money for rekeying every lock in the building. In the process, we also added new locks to some doors for which there hadn’t been locks before. After the locksmith spent two days rekeying the locks we began distributing the new keys, only to find out that some of the old keys continued to allow access to the building. So the locksmith returned a second time and went through the process all over again. The new keys that were created as a result of the fix were still being distributed when we discovered that some of the newest keys didn’t open doors they were supposed to open! So, as I write, we’re expecting the locksmith to return a third and (hopefully) final time. Here’s my point: 18 months ago we entered a new world and were forced to make all kinds of adjustments to the circumstances in which we found ourselves.
Now, as we move forward into the next phase of our life together with simultaneous in-person and live stream options, we’re once again in the position of having to “recalibrate” what our life together looks like. As we do so we’re likely to discover that some of our carefully devised protocols will prove ungainly and will not serve their intended purpose, thus we will need to adjust accordingly. I suspect this will happen a number of times before we “get things right”—at which time some other issue or edict from the powers that be might compel us to go back to the drawing board and “re-key” once more!
In this context, patience, flexibility, and forbearance are three key spiritual gifts that will enable us to function well as we venture forth together, “not always knowing where we go,” as the prayer says, but trusting that God’s hand is leading us, God’s love is supporting us, and the Spirit is guiding us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
With you on the Way,
Pastor Erik
What does this mean?