10 months! On March 15, 2020, we had our first zoom worship! 10 months have passed! And even though we know the end is on the horizon, it is not here quite yet -- so for a little longer, we will need to stay put and do the best with what we have! I invite us to be intentional in checking on our friends, family members and neighbors. Every human being is living with some level of stress and challenges in these days. Be gentle with folk, especially those who serve you and help you. 

We all were anxiously waiting for the year 2020 to end and 2021 to kick in -- hoping and wishing that overnight things will change, and the world will be different, even though we knew in our heads that it was far from reality! When I wished that, I was primarily thinking in terms of the viral pandemic, since we had started hearing reports of the vaccine becoming a reality and the possibility of lay persons like us getting them, seemed closer. However, the first week of 2021 has already reminded me of the world we live in. Yes -- I am specifically speaking of what we experienced this past Wednesday! (if this might be a trigger for you -- feel free to stop reading now! 

Well, what a year! I wonder how history will narrate this year to the generations to come? Even though I know history is generally narrated by the victor -- so it mostly is written from that perspective -- but who will be the victor in this narrative? The virus? The vaccine? The people? Time will tell but I wanted us to take a moment to reflect on what this year has meant for us as a congregation, and as people: