A Beautiful Day

I grew up watching (and enjoying) Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Only later in life did I come to appreciate the lessons I gained during those 30-minute episodes. Much has been published about Fred Rogers, a household name for many of us. Come to find out, Mister Rogers wasn’t just a television character. Mister Rogers really existed and really believed all those cute little quips that made me glad to be a human being when I was a child.

We’re headed into a 5-week sermon series called, “A Beautiful Day,” leaning into the life lessons we learned from Fred Rogers. Last November, the movie about Fred’s friendship with a journalist named, Lloyd, made headlines and reminded us all of the transforming power of kindness. Through the month of August, Pastor Heather and I will be looking at the movie’s themes through a scriptural lens. Fred Rogers knew that his stories came from his deep faith in Jesus Christ. They didn’t originate with him nor did he ever claim the credit for their transforming power. His gift was to bring them to life powerfully enough for the rest of us to be touched by God’s grace. This series is about so much more than a movie. It is really about grace and it’s continual power to change us.

If you want to watch the movie, you’ll find it on Fandango Now and Amazon Prime Video. There is also a really good documentary about Fred Rogers’ life called, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” You’ll find the documentary on Amazon Prime. For those who are visual, watching the movie and/or the documentary might deepen your experience of the sermon series. But, the sermons will stand on their own, issuing a scriptural challenge each week to deepen our walk with Christ.

We will come to the Communion Table this Sunday, so have your Communion elements ready. As an update, we have four Sunday School classes meeting in our building each Sunday at 10:00 am. Most classes host a Zoom call so everyone can meet together, those remote and those in person. We continue to live stream our worship service from the sanctuary each Sunday at 11:00 am. We brought back “Pastor Talk,” so the live stream now begins between 10:30-10:40 and includes some “chat time” with Heather and me before worship.

I meet each week with our Crisis Management Team (Heather, Glen, Eric and me) to evaluate safety protocols and consider opening our building to more people. Friends, I just need to be honest and tell you, it doesn’t look like that will be happening in the next few weeks. It is less safe than it ever has been for us to meet together. Infection rates continue to rise. Hospitalizations plateaued a bit during the first part of the week, but continued their upward climb toward the end of this week.

From the responses you gave on the survey about building re-entry (end of June/beginning of July), 78% of you said you are not ready to return for in person worship. This matches with what I’ve learned from colleagues who have returned to their sanctuaries for in person worship. For the remaining 22% ready to return, that would mean 50-80 of you in the sanctuary on any given Sunday. Measuring 6’ of distance and occupying every other pew, the sanctuary can safely hold 80 singles, more if folks are sitting in family groups. Likely, when we open the sanctuary for in person worship, we will use a save-a-seat reservation system to make sure we can accommodate everyone who intends to join us. We continue to make improvements in the audio & visual elements of the service in the sanctuary. We’ll complete this upgrade with the installation of our new sound system later in August and September.

I make two commitments to you, Faith. First, I commit that we will continue to offer you our very best livestream worship every week. Our team will invest our creativity, our energy and our prayer into every single week’s experience. Second, I commit that we will only open the sanctuary in ways that minimize the risk of infection. We cannot eliminate that risk if we are in the same space. But, I promise you that we will think through possible risk scenarios and do our best to mitigate the risk. The rates of infection and hospitalization in Tulsa do influence how safe it is for us to gather. So, expect us to watch the numbers as a part of our decision-making process.

Finally, I have two invitations for you to consider. First, Pastor Heather and I would love to have your feedback as we consider themes and sermons for the rest of 2020. We recognize that the sermon planning work we did 6 months ago is no longer relevant. We’ll be praying and planning next week. Consider these questions and send me an email response: what is the biggest struggle in your spiritual life right now? Has your prayer life improved or fallen apart during the pandemic season? How are the barriers in your spiritual life different than they were 4 1/2 months ago? How are they the same? Let us hear from you.

Second, I’m gearing up for another run of Disciple Bible Study. I’ve decided to teach online this year. We’ll use the same study manual from previous years. This manual includes daily scripture assignments and the weekly lesson. Before class, I’ll send a short video in an email and the link for our Zoom meeting. I’m planning to meet over Zoom for an hour and fifteen minutes on Thursday evenings. This study is a 24-week commitment…12 weeks in the Old Testament and 12 weeks in the New Testament. Right now, just let me know you're interested by sending me an email. Before I decide the final meeting time on Thursday evenings, I’ll let those interested in the class help me decide when we will meet.

I look forward to a special time of worship with you this Sunday as we come to the Communion Table together. I’m also looking forward to a fun family weekend, Aug. 7-9. As we find our way through this difficult season, I pray God will bless you with grace.

 Pastor Charla