I just love Spring.  Sure, sometimes the temperatures fluctuate and we even get a late winter storm.  Sometimes allergies can be difficult to deal with this time of year.  But witnessing new life springing forth all around never ceases to amaze.  Neill and I went on a walk after worship last Sunday along the Salmon River.  He fished a bit, and I happily took in the surroundings.  (I took the picture above because the light was so beautiful and rainbows were appearing among the trees.)

It seems to me that hope is on the horizon.  Can you feel it? 

We’ve now crossed the 1 million mark of first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine administered here in Connecticut.  Now is not the time to let our guards down as the positivity rate has also gone up in our state this week.  But as more and more people are eligible for vaccinations, and as more and more people are getting vaccinated, it’s hard to not feel hopeful. 

For Christians, Holy Week is just days away.  On Easter Sunday, we will be able to worship together as a congregation in-person.  At Lake Hayward at 6 AM we’ll be outside, wearing our masks, and social distancing.  In the sanctuary at 9 AM we’ll be having limited in-person worship, wearing our masks, and still social distancing.  But if you recall where we were at this time last year, we were beginning the “stay home, stay safe” orders.  Our staff had to scramble and record Holy Week services from our respective houses.  It felt like a miracle to even have worship services to offer our congregation! 

Sometimes it may not feel like we are making as much progress as we would like as we’ve experienced one full year of this pandemic.  Let’s face it, we’re all sick of the pandemic in various ways.  Though it seems like we are moving toward that “new normal.”  However that will look (and as much as that phrase gets overused, I can’t think of anything better to write at the moment!)  The point is that hope is on the horizon.  After all, Good Friday doesn’t last forever.  God always gets the last word.  And that word is love.  May that lesson sink into our hearts just a little deeper this Holy Week. 

Love,
Pastor Lauren 

(This Week’s Thoughts 3.25.21)

Photo by Rev. Lauren Lorincz.