Dear Beloved Church,
For the last many weeks we have been in the season of Eastertide. Like those first disciples, we have witnessed the ways the Risen Christ is moving among us still. We have acknowledged the sadness, despair and grief that has marked this time of COVID-19 while also looking for the presence and power of Love that assures us that we will not be left alone. We have heard that it is in God that we live and move and have our being and there is nothing that can ever separate us from that love.
We reach the end of Eastertide this Sunday, and next Sunday will celebrate Pentecost. Pentecost celebrates the birth of the early church. At Pentecost we remember the time when people across all sorts of boundaries that divided them nonetheless felt the power of the Spirit on the move creating something new in and through them.
It is with the same assurance and trusting in the same Spirit that we turn to the months ahead.
First I want to assure you that the well-being and spiritual sustenance of this beloved church is our utmost priority.
Second, I am pleased to let you know that our Sunday morning services will not come to an end at the end of our program year. Instead, we will be offering Sunday morning services at 10:00 throughout the Summer. These services will continue to be online through our Zoom platform. As is our custom, our July and August services will offer opportunities for enhanced lay participation. If you may be interested in preaching, offering some music or engaging in other ways with the service, please be in touch with Pastor Stacy, if you would.
Finally, we are forming a UCW – Phase Forward Team that will be charged with articulating a plan for what will be needed to ensure safe and responsible use of the building and also a timeline for doing so.
If you have any concerns or questions, please be in touch with Moderators Diane Tillotson and Alison McCarty or with me.
With much grace, peace and hope,