None of us wanted to be in this position again. Covid came to two of my three kids’ households over Christmas. My friend who is a clinic nurse picked up two weekend shifts on the floor beyond her regular 50 hour a week job because the major medical center where she works was begging for help. This was not the way we wanted to begin a bright new year. If you are weary, or frustrated or “over it” that is completely understandable.

I want you to know what we are doing at church to continue practicing our values of keeping folks safe, protecting the vulnerable and creating community. All staff are testing weekly and wearing KN95 or N95 masks on Sundays. Because our stream is now “live” we will continue to hold Sunday worship at 9:01, 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. because we need to be there in order for the stream to happen. We understand completely if you choose to worship at home during this surge and we also gladly welcome you to worship in person if you feel safe gathering. We think that the chapel and sanctuary offer adequate space for social distancing and we require masks for all participants. We have suspended in-person classes and groups for two weeks and we continue to encourage and facilitate virtual gatherings via Zoom and other platforms.

I was struck by a line from Margaret Renkl’s new book of essays Graceland at Last. She captured that yo-yo feeling where we rotate between despair and hope. And she wrote this line back in 2019: “It is no doubt a mistake to believe that everything will work out in the end. At the moment everything is far, far from working out. But there’s as great a danger in despair as there is in unwarranted hope.”

As I read the arc of scripture, I recall many moments when the people of God were frustrated and tempted to give into despair. Noah on a boat without a sprig of green in sight. Moses and the people stuck in the the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus on trial when all he had ever done was express the radical love of God. The followers of Jesus locked in an upper room trembling in fear after he was gone. Paul imprisoned for preaching the good news. And I recall the moments of exhilarating hope: the dove brings back a green twig to Noah, Moses’ people enter the promised land, Jesus giving sight to the blind, an empty tomb with an angel announcing, “he is not here, he is risen,” Paul teaching the people throughout vast regions that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

As the Psalmist sings in Psalm 50: 5 “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

Grace and Peace,
Carla

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