I was in the kitchen when my phone suddenly started making the Emergency Alert sound! It startled me because: 1) I didn’t have the TV on and I had only experienced that sound on TV, and 2) I didn’t think the weather was going to be bad at all, so then why the alarm? Just as I was thinking, the announcement began -- telling us that we needed to stay at home and only go out if necessary! Even though I know both our Governor and the Mayor have been telling us this was coming, and even though our Bishop has also asked churches to stop all in-person worship, my heart did miss a beat at the announcement! I am sure I am not alone. We are all tired of being home, of not being able to get out much, and now, not be able to be with families and friends for Thanksgiving. As you know, I always have a picture in this letter that connects with whatever it is that I am trying to convey in this letter, but today I struggled -- do I use a Thanksgiving image? But will that help since we can’t have the same elaborate table filled with food and surrounded by loved ones, and, I have to remind us of the ‘stay at home’ advice, and, we are almost into Advent, so I need to talk a little about that as well...
...so here are the images I have for you today: a combination of all those things -- after all that is how our life is right now, isn’t it?
Yes friends, it is true that we will not be able to see family or friends for Thanksgiving, but that is so all can be healthy and safe. We know this has been too long, but this will not be forever. This will pass eventually and we will be able to be together once again -- but until that day we all need to do our part and keep each other safe.
This Sunday is the last Sunday in the Christian liturgical calendar. Next Sunday marks the First Sunday in Advent! Our Advent and Christmas worship will focus on the theme, “I believe -- even when...” based on a “poem of an anonymous Jewish person during the Holocaust. These words were found scrawled on a wall and have now been shared with the world, reminding us of the resilience of hope."
Even though we won’t be together, we will create as familiar a space as we possibly can for the Advent worship services. We will offer a “Blue Christmas” service again this year, on Monday, December 21st at 5:30pm, which like other services will be live streamed, so many of you will be able to participate.
As you may remember we have been trying to get one full video made of the worship services and we are close to being successful in that. We have uploaded our worship from last week, November 15th, on our YouTube channel (here is the link) and Facebook page (here is the link for Facebook). We invite you to explore those platforms as we will be using more of that in the future.
And friends, please do take good care of you! Follow the directions of the experts who are telling us to stay safe at home, wash hands as frequently as you can, wear your mask and, hard as it may be, this year let us celebrate Thanksgiving with only the people who live in the house with you. We can live with a little inconvenience this year so we can celebrate many more Thanksgivings with our family and friends. May God give all of us the strength we need for each day. And remember, I am always your partner, in justice and in ministry.
