Pastor's Blog: It’s So Good to See You Again
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Reconnecting with old friends is always a pleasant experience. Whether it be a homecoming or a scheduled visit or a chance encounter, we enjoy opportunities to spend time with those who have been an important part of our life in days past. One of the major Sundays in rural church life was something called “Decoration Sunday,” when members and former members of those congregations would share in a time of worship, fellowship, and after a covered-dish meal, the placing of flowers on the graves of those buried in the church yard next to the church. Some of you may still attend such gatherings. But even if you don’t have the foggiest notion of what a “Decoration Sunday” is, you know what it’s like to spend time with people you haven’t seen in a while. On those occasions, the most spoken greeting is surely, “It’s so good to see you again.”
This past Sunday, upon the release of updated guidelines from the Center for Disease Control toward the end of the week, we lifted mask and physical distancing restrictions in our worship and adult small group gatherings. It was the first Sunday I was able to see smiling faces and not have to guess identities. I thought to myself, “It’s sure good to see people again.” Those of you who were in attendance probably felt that way too. To paraphrase Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, this past Sunday seemed to me to be “one small step for Doug and one giant leap for our church.” Now maybe we can start moving toward arriving at where we want to be as a church – where people return and resume activities that are so vital to their faith development.
A couple of cautions are in order as we do. One is that even though we are lifting restrictions in adult gatherings, we are still keeping them in place for the time being for students and children. Vaccines should be available to those demographics sometime this summer, and when they do, we’ll be able to lift restrictions for them then. But for now, it’s best that we keep them in place to ensure their safety. Another caveat is that our policy will now become “Mask Optional.” If you are concerned about your own health and prefer to continue wearing a mask for your protection, please do so. Do not feel pressured to remove your mask if you think it best to wear one. Your safety is our priority and you know what’s best for you. As we have emphasized from the beginning, our approach will continue to be governed by our efforts to be responsible, incremental, and adaptable. Safety is paramount. All changes toward normalcy will take place over time. If we must take a step backwards at any point in the days ahead because of spikes or outbreaks, we will do so.
I’m sure you will agree with me that this moment is a most important one for our church. It represents the benefits that have resulted from the compliance of so many to the protocols we put in place in our church at the beginning of the pandemic. So, thank you for your faithfulness in this regard. Let’s hope that our having done so will spark an even greater return to participation in the life of our church in the coming weeks. I, for one, will look forward to seeing so many of you again; hopefully, this coming Sunday!
“But brothers and sisters, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you…but Satan stopped us. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:17-20).