Dear people of God:

In my imagination, there would be a Sunday when suddenly all of you would be back again. After a long absence, all restrictions would be dropped and suddenly the house of prayer would be filled with the people of prayer. Singing, children getting fidgety, and a meal to follow… well, I wasn’t the only one to imagine all this, I know.

Instead, folks are coming back slowly and intermittently. Most are waiting, as I’ve suggested, until two weeks beyond a full course of vaccinations. Some are waiting longer, continuing to exercise caution. As of this writing, we’re still not singing as much as we usually do, and we’re not having a children’s message or doing in-person Sunday School. All returns gradually.

And some things will probably never return. Last year the Worship Committee talked about what is essential for Reformed worship; those conversations will guide us as we slowly rebuild our life of worship. And I hope some new things will emerge. Since I’m doing adult education on Wednesday evenings – and will continue to do so – what shall we do for adults on Sunday mornings at 9:00, beginning this Fall? I’m open to suggestions.

In the meantime, look at the story in our newsletter for our plans for the summer; I’ll post about them here later this month. Some folks want to worship outdoors, as we did last summer; yet we need to make use of our excellent webcasting equipment permanently installed in the Sanctuary. I think we found a creative solution.

Frequently what we imagine will be does not occur. And often what does occur is better than we imagined!

Pastor Bob