It’s been pretty dreary on 60th Street. Rain, and more rain these few days. Even Wallace is hiding and sleeping all day on warm blankets and staying away from the window. Even the birds aren’t out.
But, a bright spot today was the creation of our Holy Week Virtual Worship Schedule. You can see that schedule here, and print it off, or save it on your device. Please note that we will not have Facebook Live at 10 a.m. We will start our Zoom Worship Service at 10 a.m. instead.
Yes, we will gather, virtually but together, as the Body of Christ for Holy Week. We will celebrate Holy Week as fully as we are able. And, yes, it will be drastically different than what we are used to, but I am thinking that is more than fine. In fact, I dare say it is GOOD and right that we do mourn the loss of “normal.”
Because, in truth, we have been complacent. Set in our ways. Stiff in our favorite chair, row, pews. This year, we will MISS our normal, typical Holy Week services. And by shaking our structures and traditions a bit, we see what is important. We see some of the things we love perhaps too much, and other things we have taken for granted.
I have been calling this time apart a wilderness journey, modeling it after the 40 years the Israelites wandered pretty aimlessly before reaching the Promised Land. And I have reminded you that this journey is chronicled well in Exodus and Deuteronomy, but it doesn’t end with those two books of the Bible. Oh, no. The Book of Joshua begins with God telling Joshua that the Promised Land is theirs to have, but they need to work and seize it.
I hate to think we will be wandering aimlessly for years, but it has been days so far, with weeks to go. And when it ends, and no one can give us clarity on that date yet, we will not be able to go BACK to Egypt (so to speak) but we will have to face the new land ahead of us. And it will be different. It should be. All journeys change the travelers. We may change some of our traditions. The things that we love? We may no longer need, or we may even love them more. But certainly, we all can agree, we will be changed as the Body of Christ. And perhaps, just perhaps, that is GOOD as well.
Read your Beacon News this week on Friday. In it, we will offer ideas for preparing for Palm Sunday (with crafts!), setting the tone for worship in your homes, and preparing for Holy Week.
My prayers are with you always, please feel free to reach out to me and let me know how you are doing!
Blessings to you and your loved ones,
Pastor Sarah
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