As I reflect on the last two years of pandemic impacts on our parish life, it’s the impact on our relationships that I most lament. We’ve managed to figure out how to worship online or outdoors when we need to. We’ve come together to serve neighbors in our community, to bless gardens and plant trees, and to enjoy a little fellowship here and there as the weather allows.
These things have sustained our community through a long, hard season in many ways, but we can’t deny that two years of pandemic has caused all of us to be less connected than we used to be as a community; or less connected than we want to be.
There are plenty of opportunities these days, with web-based communications as they are, to access faith-based content online whether through prayer and meditation apps, podcasts that provide intellectual and spiritual stimulation, or sermons given by thousands of great preachers anywhere in the country. Yet, the one thing that can’t be streamed online or downloaded to our phones is the joy of being in community with others, especially a community that’s genuinely grounded in the love of Christ and committed to walking his Way of Love together.
Despite the “two steps back” we’ve taken during the Omicron surge; despite the general weariness we all feel over what seems like endlessly evolving safety protocols; despite any frustrations we may feel about all that’s changed or has been “lost” in our life together during this pandemic; I hope you will join me in remembering why it matters that we “do church.” What has been lost will be found again unless we stop searching for it.
This comes with Love,
Mo. Sarah+