The Weekly Update page is extracted from a weekly e-mail sent out by
Assistant Pastor Donna Pollock
The SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico carrying two American astronauts on Sunday. They reentry went well as the atmosphere and parachutes slowed their precipitous descent from 17,000 miles per hour to roughly 15 mph. Talk about a high speed reentry or good brakes, the mission returned home safely. Here’s hoping we can do the same when we re-enter our building and repossess our sanctuary once again. Some people are itchy and asking when we will move back in from the lawn. After our experience this past Sunday, I think we will make out well when we come together indoors.
It was not supposed to rain when we made our Saturday decision about Sunday worship. But, come Sunday morning during set-up time, rain began to fall and it was obvious we had no other choice but to move inside. By that time, there was no way to reach people with our decision. Quite a few tech-savvy people got the email update and understood what was happening and participated on Zoom, but others showed up on site and we all moved indoors together. It was a good experience. People spread out, kept on their masks, practiced social distancing, and honored each other. If this is how things go, we might be ready to reenter any moment. So why don’t we?
People. Some people do not feel safe indoors, no matter what, but are willing to worship outdoors. We have each other on the lawn for the moment. Many have indicated they will not join us when we reenter, not until they feel safe(r) or there is a vaccine. Out of love for others, whom we stand to lose, we delay our indoor move. It’s certainly more work to set-up—wires, cables, technology, and equipment, and probably less comfortable outside. Indoors, we stayed dry and did not need to contend with the elements, such as hot sun or irritating ants crawling up our legs during worship! The eventual move—cold weather, if nothing else, will force us to relocate—is inevitable. Nevertheless, if our experience and the sensitivity people demonstrated for one another is any indication, I have every expectation that the reentry will go well. For now, we make haste slowly.
Pastor Jeff