This month marks a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began to dramatically altered the landscape of our lives in so many ways, both personally and as a community. Each of us have approached the situation and been impacted by it in our own unique ways, but none of us has been untouched by it. My sense is that there is a pervasive underlying grief welling up inside of us, the depth of which we are only just beginning to recognize. We have all done the best we knew how in making choices which would balance keeping us safe with keeping us connected. There have been no perfect options, which is, of course, always true. So, here we are, a year later, still struggling with those choices and feeling the cumulative weight of what the past many months have wrought. What I know is that we are stronger because we are not alone. Even though our in-person contact has been severely limited, there remains a strong sense of being connected in community. And through it all there has been a profound experience of God’s Presence flowing in, among, and through us. There is light emerging. A new day is dawning. Winter is slowly giving way to Spring. Easter is coming. It will probably not look like we expect it to look. God’s gifts seldom do. And that is a good thing, because God is not limited by our expectations or even our imagination. I remain hopeful. We need to continue being vigilant in taking the precautions which seem prudent, and at the same time I believe we can look with excited anticipation to the new day which is coming. Transformation is already underway. The sunrise will be glorious.
- Pastor Roger
(keeping my feet firmly planted in the flow)
