Pastoral note, from Garrett
As we prepare to celebrate our church’s 37th birthday, it looks like we will have a more muted celebration this year. Two factors have complicated our plans for our Anniversary Sunday.
Rain. The San Antonio metro area is still likely to pick up between 2 and 4 inches of rain from early Thursday through Friday. In some areas, totals could reach 8 inches. In addition, there’s a 50% chance of rain on Saturday and a 50% chance on Sunday. Our grounds will likely be battered by rain for over 3 days before we arrive Sunday morning. This would make for a really muddy picnic.
‘Germiness.’ We are hearing of more and more church members who have come down with cases of COVID and/or Flu. Randy canceled Thursday night’s choir practice because so many singers were out with COVID. Two staff members are sick. Something seems to be going around, and lingering over potluck tables together on Sunday night won't help.
This doesn’t mean we are re-entering “COVID-19-2020-Pandemic protocols.” But rain + COVID-spread = bad time for a potluck picnic. For this reason, we are going to make the difficult decision to cancel the picnic this year. We will consider celebrating at another time. For now, we're looking forward to the next big church fellowship— our Thanksgiving Dinner on Nov. 15.
Sunday morning, we will have church as normal, albeit with a smaller choir. We are planning to share communion together with the prepackaged communion cups with the wafer tucked away that’s impossible to find.
We are also planning on ordaining 11 new deacons on Sunday morning. That’s usually just about the “touchiest” thing we do in worship. Once again, great timing! We will do this as best we can. If you don’t feel comfortable participating, you can write notes to these new deacons or bless them from a distance.
Mike Massar guest taught the Lifestages class last week, and he talked about spiritual eldering. He said, “One of life’s great tasks is learning to release. It’s not about giving up but giving over.”
Well, this year we will have to give over the opportunity to gather on Sunday night around tables with fried chicken. We’ll set it aside until next year. There’s a biblical word for “setting things aside.” To be set aside is to be holy or sacred. That’s the root of sacrifice. It’s this practice of setting aside that teaches us to see the holiness that surrounds us. So maybe that’s what we can remember this weekend— the holiness of Christ’s church that teaches us of the holiness of God’s creation in which we live, and move, and have our being. That’s the abundance we celebrate every anniversary. And this year we will celebrate that abundance in a new and different way.
And next year, let there be chicken.
Grace and peace,
Garrett Vickrey