UCC Family,
Are you as excited as I am about our congregation resuming in-person worship on June 20? This has been a long time coming, and it's going to be so wonderful...and also, likely, a bit strange. Worship will be somewhat different than it was last time we were physically together. We will be masked; we will not sing congregationally quite yet; we will have spaces in between occupied pews; we will partake of pre-packaged communion. But, we will be in our gorgeous sanctuary; we will see each other off of a screen; we will get to gather outside (without masks, for those who are vaccinated and comfortable) after worship in the courtyard for post-service coffee.
Read the article later in this issue of the Caller for more details, or you can click here to see our recent announcement and video about our return to in-person worship.
We made the best of it; we pivoted to fully-online church -- worship, fellowship, board meetings, ministry meetings, staff meetings (so. many. Zooms!) -- prayed for the world; loved our neighbors and made sacrifices to reduce transmission of COVID; all with the help, strength, and love of God. It wasn't easy. We were, in the words of Diana Butler Bass, dislocated: temporally, historically, physically, and relationally. She writes that "religious communities need to be about the work of relocation -- finding what has been lost, repairing what has been broken, and re-grounding people into their own lives and communities."
What a JOYFUL thing it's been to get to hug friends and family again, as vaccinations rise. It's heart-filling and a little overwhelming. As I sat down a couple of weeks ago on patios with family and friends I hadn't seen since August (and even then, we didn't get to hug), I was brought to tears at just how sweet it was. As loved ones finally reunite, we are finding each other once again and relocating ourselves in the world. Church, we are in this together, with God as our protector, friend, and guide. Be gentle with yourselves and with others as we continue taking steps into a world that's changed and in need of the healing and renewing love of Christ.
Love and peace to you,
Pastor Megan