Good Morning Church!
I am overjoyed to be back home! My trip to North Carolina was a blessed time, but I must admit that I am happy to be back with my flock, even though temporarily from afar.
It would be remiss of me if I did not mention the things that happened in our nation's capital while I was away. I was heartbroken, angered, and astonished by the events surrounding that violent attempt at subjugating the rule of law. Make no mistake—we hold that we have one sovereign and true guide in our lives, which is the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. But, we must also recognize that this belief is bolstered by the rights enshrined in our constitution. Similarly, we must recognize that our beliefs are protected by the rule of law and institutions laid forth in our constitution. We should be thankful for this system, even if we vehemently disagree with its manifestation at times. It has protected our freedoms as Christians just as it has protected adherents to every other creed as well as adherents of no creed.
The foundational keystone of our national life is our constitution. It was established to protect our personal and civil freedoms, and to insure that those freedoms are peacefully preserved throughout the many political turns that our nation has enjoyed and endured since its founding. With this being said, I invite us to all pray for our nation. I pray that we remember that violence is not a viable method to air our grievances. I pray that as Christians, we continue to discern the true message of Christ: To love God and our neighbor, even if and especially if we don't agree with them. I pray that we are the water that calms the flames that are fanned for reasons that are hard to comprehend.
Above all, I pray that we have the courage to proclaim Christ crucified and Christ risen in the midst of all of the noise and strife. That's what I intend to do, and I hope that our Church will be emboldened and resolute in maintaining the beacon of Christ that the Church will enlighten our nation and give thanks for the freedom, peace, and justice which we honor and enjoy.
Now on to an important announcement and question. I am hoping that we can resume in person services on January 23rd and 24th. This resumption of services would be characterized by some of the precautions that we put in place when we attempted to resume in person services during the summer. I want to be clear in acknowledging that this return will not be comfortable for all of us. If you do not feel comfortable in returning to in person worship, I hope that you will take advantage of our streaming services on Sunday and participate in our distribution of the sacrament following the streamed service.
Now for the question, if you have any ideas, concerns or thoughts about our plans - would you please reach out to me and let me know how you feel? The Church is not a service, but a community and I welcome your input as an integral and valuable part of the Body of Christ.
Please know that I am prayerfully hoping that we can return to some sense of normalcy when the vaccinations are distributed to our most vulnerable members. But, for the time being we will observe the precautions that were handed to us by the Diocese and recommended by our Moses Commission.
I am overjoyed to be back home! My trip to North Carolina was a blessed time, but I must admit that I am happy to be back with my flock, even though temporarily from afar.
It would be remiss of me if I did not mention the things that happened in our nation's capital while I was away. I was heartbroken, angered, and astonished by the events surrounding that violent attempt at subjugating the rule of law. Make no mistake—we hold that we have one sovereign and true guide in our lives, which is the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. But, we must also recognize that this belief is bolstered by the rights enshrined in our constitution. Similarly, we must recognize that our beliefs are protected by the rule of law and institutions laid forth in our constitution. We should be thankful for this system, even if we vehemently disagree with its manifestation at times. It has protected our freedoms as Christians just as it has protected adherents to every other creed as well as adherents of no creed.
The foundational keystone of our national life is our constitution. It was established to protect our personal and civil freedoms, and to insure that those freedoms are peacefully preserved throughout the many political turns that our nation has enjoyed and endured since its founding. With this being said, I invite us to all pray for our nation. I pray that we remember that violence is not a viable method to air our grievances. I pray that as Christians, we continue to discern the true message of Christ: To love God and our neighbor, even if and especially if we don't agree with them. I pray that we are the water that calms the flames that are fanned for reasons that are hard to comprehend.
Above all, I pray that we have the courage to proclaim Christ crucified and Christ risen in the midst of all of the noise and strife. That's what I intend to do, and I hope that our Church will be emboldened and resolute in maintaining the beacon of Christ that the Church will enlighten our nation and give thanks for the freedom, peace, and justice which we honor and enjoy.
Now on to an important announcement and question. I am hoping that we can resume in person services on January 23rd and 24th. This resumption of services would be characterized by some of the precautions that we put in place when we attempted to resume in person services during the summer. I want to be clear in acknowledging that this return will not be comfortable for all of us. If you do not feel comfortable in returning to in person worship, I hope that you will take advantage of our streaming services on Sunday and participate in our distribution of the sacrament following the streamed service.
Now for the question, if you have any ideas, concerns or thoughts about our plans - would you please reach out to me and let me know how you feel? The Church is not a service, but a community and I welcome your input as an integral and valuable part of the Body of Christ.
Please know that I am prayerfully hoping that we can return to some sense of normalcy when the vaccinations are distributed to our most vulnerable members. But, for the time being we will observe the precautions that were handed to us by the Diocese and recommended by our Moses Commission.