This week at our Staff Meeting we spent time discussing Christmas Eve logistics as we do every year at our December Staff Meeting. I wondered aloud, “Wait, is this our second Covid Christmas or third?” I honestly didn’t remember. We decided that it’s our second Covid Christmas, and hopefully our last.
I don’t know if you have moments like this, but sometimes time itself and dates are confusing given all we’re going through. It’s hard to keep track of how long we’ve been in this pandemic. March 8, 2020 was our last “normal” worship service (in the middle of Lent no less). That date stands out for some reason (and can be verified by looking back at old Worship videos on our website!) and then we can calculate from there. Sometimes I use the phrase “in the before times” to differentiate then and now.
Perhaps you saw the news already, but there was a second case of the Omicron variant in Connecticut announced this week and the positivity rate has been increasing of late. For now, the best path forward seems to be to keep on keepin’ on around here. Our mitigation strategies are working. We are thankful for everyone’s continued cooperation with masking during worship in particular. Masking enables us to sing all these great Advent and Christmas hymns together—an activity we were not able to do at this time last year. This alone feels like some progress!
Anyway, these scattered thoughts this week are about navigating yet another Covid Christmas as a congregation. As always, thank you for your patience and understanding as we all do our best to be the Church in these complex times. God remains with us through it all.
Love,
Pastor Lauren
Another Covid Christmas
on being made well 