Pentecost Week Six, A Second Summer of Pandemic Living, July 2, 2021

Summer is picnic time, and perhaps the most iconic of summer picnics is our nation’s annual birthday celebration – the fourth of July. With the lifting of all restrictions (no masks!) and the ability to gather freely, we’re really ready to picnic and party. Bring it on!

Having lived in a number of places, I’ve come to appreciate the variety of foods that grace picnic tables across our marvelously diverse nation. Not just hamburgers, but green chile cheeseburgers! Not just grilled meat but grilled salmon and shrimp. Not just grilled corn but grilled cabbage and grilled squash! Not to mention amazing salads!

But the meal I long for the most is the one that is common to every place on earth. It’s the bread and wine of communion broken and shared as we invoke the name and presence of Jesus our Lord. This meal unites the whole family of God, and feeds our deepest hunger. Bring it on!

Be assured that as the summer opens before us, we will continue to evaluate the soonest possible time that we can return to our regular worship schedule on each island. The Task Group on Re-opening will meet in mid-July and an update will be available soon after that. For now we have our rotation of one in-person worship each week on an island.

If the ferry schedule allows, I encourage you to travel to the other islands to worship at each location as in-person worship moves around. Of course there is still Zoom Worship at 10 am. In the meantime, keep caring for one another, particularly all those who have not yet been vaccinated.
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In the Love of Christ,
Pr. Beth