Meditations with Pastor Tom (7/3/20)

""Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!" ~ Zechariah 9:9           

            Rejoice greatly! Shout aloud!  Those seem like very appropriate words for how I feel about going back to church this Sunday.  I am so excited to return to my church family.  I am thrilled to be able to see all of you (even though I'll be keeping my distance).  I am truly thankful we had online services as a substitute, and I am thoroughly convinced we did the right by closing our doors.  Still, I missed my church family and I miss the connections that gathering together brings.

            I am so pumped to be returning even though I know some difficult truths will remain.  The service will have to change in some ways.  We will have to sit some distance from each other; we will want to wear masks; we won't be singing; we won't be passing the collection plate; we won't have bulletins; our Community Welcome will be totally different; we'll have my phone on a tripod near the pulpit so we can to continue to live stream services.  I also know that there is no guarantee that we won't have to shut down again.

            Still, I rejoice, and I hope you do, too.  I will come in a celebratory mood, and I hope you do, too.  And if you don't feel comfortable coming just yet, we all understand.  I just pray that you can feel the joy in some way as you watch us on Facebook Live.  I just I were a more creative person so that I could make the jubilee feeling more alive and more palpable.

            I always remember, though, that the essence of church is not about the trappings.  The essence of church is in the gathering together of God's people, in the work we do as the body of Christ, in the spirit of God moving among us as we join our hearts, and in the proclamation of the Good News.

            So, whatever church looks like as we come back, however church services evolve as we adjust to our new reality, let's come back together with joyous and jubilant hearts.  Let us celebrate not only because our family can be together again, but because we can renew our efforts to live into the complete essence of the church.

The Sermon this Sunday

Comfort vs. Challenge