Happy New Year! | Jan 1

As my husband and I sit here drinking our morning coffee and Dr Pepper, New Zealand is being shown with their impressive fire works display as they herald in the New Year. Today will include news from each time zone as we slowly march into 2021. For many, this last year has been incredibly painful with the loss of a loved one or the financial security of their employment. In addition, this year has peaked in racial tension and a call for a better, more just world. For those in our health care systems, it has been a year of exhaustion. For us in the church, it has been a year of creativity and distance as we embrace being the church in our homes and finding new ways to live out our faithfulness. 

With new restrictions, this year has been a time to focus on our families. We have cooked at home and gathered around our dining tables because the things that filled our evening calendars were not happening. We have scheduled virtual events with relatives that were not so organized before the pandemic. We share more pictures and phone calls with those we love. And for many who struggled with fertility issues, they are pregnant for the first time after imposed stay-at-home orders. Home improvement businesses are up 400% because we are feathering our nests since they are our primary place. Many of us have met our neighbors for the first time. We have been reminded of the beauty of creation. 

As we begin 2021, we have to start thinking about what things we want to retain from this unprecedented time apart. Do we want to give up our family meals and allow our calendars to become so crowded again? Do we stop our family virtual gatherings? How do we retain our desire to make the world a better place? 

As we begin this time of transition to a new year and a new reality with vaccines, I think we need to be careful about what we prioritize and allow to have our time. We have been given the opportunity to ask ourselves what we truly value. Let us not waste this time but learn from it. How can we be better than we were before? On January 3rd, we will be offering the Wesley Covenant prayer as part of our worship service together. It is a tradition that began in the 1700’s with John Wesley being inspired by the faithfulness of the Puritans. On the first Sunday of the new year, this prayer was offered to recalibrate ourselves with a focus on God. I hope you will join us online as we say this prayer together. I invite you to post it on your mirror or refrigerator so you will see it every day. It is a wonderful reminder to put the things of God first in our lives. 

I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will, place me with whom you will.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be put to work for you or set aside for you,
Praised for you or criticized for you.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and fully surrender all things to your glory and service.
And now, O wonderful and Holy God,
Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, 
you are mine, and I am yours.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
Let it also be made in heaven. Amen.

Have a happy New Year,
Pastor Heather

P.S. This article brought me a lot of laughs this morning. Dave Barry has written “Year-End Review” articles for the Washington Post for many years- but be warned, this one is extra sarcastic and humorous. It felt good to take a break from the weight of 2020 and remember the more comical things that brought us together like scrambling for toilet paper and wondering where the “murder hornets” went.