Two Good Choices | March 26
You know the hardest decisions are not between good and bad, they are between good and good. We’ve wrestled with this ever since the pandemic began. The value of safety is important to every single one of us. I know this to be true. We might have different ideas about what it takes to be safe, but we all think safety is important. The value of hospitality is important to every single one of us too. It is in the DNA of this congregation, expressed in two of our core values: come as you are and connect with love. This season has pitted those two values against one another, repeatedly.
Despite this struggle, we’ve had guests visit our church -- both online and in the sanctuary. Especially those who join us in the sanctuary have expressed a desire to become involved in our life together, restricted as it is in so many ways. It has been hard for me to live in this struggle, but I’ve stayed committed to creativity with lots of help from our staff and Suzanne Stevenson.
We’re trying to do our best. Back in the Fall, we held Faith Welcome completely online. We had Panera delivered to folks’ homes and then we all hopped on Zoom together. Last Sunday, we hosted our guests in the large open area of the narthex. We sat socially distanced. Once again, we ordered Panera. With individual orders, we felt we could safely share a meal together, keeping our distance and keeping conversation to a minimum.
We kept the event short, but I shared the mission that drives us, “Inviting people to Christ-centered service.” I answered questions about group opportunities and what we hope to live into as we expand our Sunday morning schedule. As we wrapped up, I explained what it means to be a member here. I offered each person the opportunity to stay and fill out our membership form -- or be blessed with a full tummy and some new information. Every single person decided to become a member here at Faith. I’d like to introduce you to: Carolynne Cash, Molly Gabbert, Nikki McGooden, Tom and Dee Kemp. You’ll see them around. In fact, they’ll be helping with our Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow. I hope you will extend to them a warm welcome.
As you think about your Easter plans, you’ll want to decide which service fits you and/or your family best. If you want to join us outside for the celebration, head to the pavilion in the Turkey Mountain parking lot at 10:00 am. We will be running a shuttle service between the overflow parking lot and the pavilion because we want to leave room for those who will come to this recreation area to hike or bike. If they drive up and all the spaces are full, their feelings toward our church will likely not be positive. Let’s make sure the other guests at Turkey Mountain experience our church to be one of kindness and generosity.
If you want to join us at 11:00 am, we’ll be running our livestream just like always.You can tune in online or join us in the building. We’ve set a limit for sanctuary attendance to keep all safe. You can use this link to make your reservation: bit.ly/easter-save-a-seat. Reservations open on March 29.
After Easter, we’re looking forward to a new sermon series, “The Lord’s Prayer, Uncovered.” What if the Lord’s Prayer had been dormant for 500 years -- longer than anyone’s memory? What if archeologists swept away the dust from this treasure and brought it forward again? What do you think would strike someone about this prayer who’d never heard it before? These questions and more will serve as the springboard for the six weeks following Easter.
We want to offer you a special way to pray this prayer...prayer beads. On Easter Sunday, we’ll have sets of these beads available for everyone. If you know of someone, perhaps a skeptic, who wonders what this prayer means, we encourage you to give them a set of beads. Invite them to pray the Lord’s Prayer with us, maybe even join us on our livestream or in the sanctuary. We’re going to discover what a real treasure this prayer can be for us.
See you with a palm branch on Sunday,
Pastor Charla
