I met with the bishop yesterday. Once a year he meets individually with clergy just to “check in.” Not surprisingly the pandemic dominated our conversation. The bishop is frustrated, perhaps a little angry over the current state of affairs. I’m frustrated too. One thing he said resonated with me: “We can’t forget who we are,” he said.
In that regard it is so very important that we gather in-person as the church. One of the chief purposes of liturgy is to remind ourselves, to remember, who we are and to whom we belong. Having said that, our chief goal is to stay safe. We will continue to require masks when in church; we will have limited singing; we will only distribute the bread at communion; we ask that you keep reasonable physical distance; and if you are eligible for vaccination… get vaccinated. We are postponing our parish celebration which had been scheduled for September 12, and we are postponing the Bayou Bash until the Spring. We had hoped to restart parish breakfasts on Sundays, but we feel that too must wait.
But we will gather from Sunday to Sunday to remember that we are God’s beloved people; to praise God for love among us, and for life itself. We will continue to seek wisdom in the words of scripture, and we will break bread together. We are called to be a witness to the persistent hope that “all manner of thing shall be well.” The church has been here before and it has endured. Perhaps our finest hour is engendered by crisis. Pray for the church, good people… and remember.
