Dear St. James’ family,
Last night the Vestry and I met via Zoom and worked on setting a vision for our community for the coming weeks as we all live into the reality of this pandemic. Three areas emerged: we stay connected, we stay church, we take care of each other.*
We stay connected. We have worked hard in the last week to both streamline and enhance our communication ability. We are now utilizing Facebook Live and Zoom, along with our website and parish wide emails, to share information and foster connection with each other and the wider world. I am also posting #spiritualuplift messages every morning and sharing resources for children and adults daily. We are imagining ways for us to still gather “face to face” such as “Zoom coffee hour” on Sundays (more on that soon!). Vestry members will be reaching out to everyone in our directory in the coming week to check in and see how you’re doing, what your needs are, if you’re able to be a part of a ;helper team” we’re creating, and to hear your prayer requests. I too am making my way through the directory calling everyone and am available via phone and email if you need anything, have a question, or just want to chat. We’re also working on a plan to create small groups for deeper connection in the coming weeks.
We stay church. The church is not the building, the church is the body of Christ – which is each and every one of us. We know this, and yet our norm for being church is rooted in our practice of coming together to worship. We can’t do that right now, and likely won’t be able to for some time. While we have no official word from Bishop Sutton yet, yesterday Presiding Bishop Curry offered a “Word to the Church about Holy Week and Easter Day.” Please read his full statement below, which points toward the reality that odds are we will not be together for several Sundays to come, and for those holy days. Our music director Richard and I are beginning to work on the shape of Sunday worship going forward, which will likely be through Facebook Live and/or Zoom – look for information about that next week. Additionally, I am enrolled in an upcoming workshop through Virginia Theological Seminary on planning holy week services that honor social distancing.
In the meantime we’ll be offering virtual Compline services on Facebook several times a week. You do not need to have a Facebook account to “attend” – just click here to participate. We will send out information for Bishop Sutton’s livestream of worship for this Sunday 3/22 (and our Zoom coffee hour afterward!) later this week.
We take care of each other. Connection is great, and so is church, but being Christian means being in caring relationship with each other and the world. This quote from Fred Rogers has always grounded me in difficult times: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” We have many people in our church family who fall into the CDC’s vulnerable category, and so we’re creating a team of helpers who are able to be on call to assist folks in need. Maybe this means making a grocery run or picking up a prescription. Maybe it’s writing notes or sending cards to people wh’t get out so they don’t feel so isolated. There are so many ways we can care for one another’s physical and mental wellbeing in this time, and I can’t wait to hear all of your creative ideas as well.
A final word about taking care of our St. James’ family: While our usual ways of worshiping together have been disrupted, some members are calling the office to find out how to support the ongoing ministries of the parish. You may drop off your usual offering in our locked and secure mailbox in front of the church, or you may mail a check to St. James’ Episcopal Church, 1307 North Main St., Mt. Airy, MD 21771. Your ongoing and uninterrupted support ensures our continued flourishing as a community, which is especially critical in uncertain times. Thank you.
I know this is a lot at time when we’re all experiencing information overload, but I hope if nothing else you feel the love of our amazing parish family surrounding you as we navigate this unsteady time. The Church has faced times of tribulation many times before and come through stronger, and I trust that will too.
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
*We are grateful to the Canon for Congregational Development in the Diocese of Olympia, the Rev. Alissa Newton, for articulating this identity statement that fits our ideas so well.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Word to the Church: Holy Week and Easter Day 2020
March 17, 2020
A word to the Church regarding Holy Week and Easter Day from the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church:
Dear People of God,
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
These affirmations are at the very heart of our faith as followers of Jesus Christ.
In public services of Holy Week and Easter we solemnly contemplate, commemorate, and rededicate our lives as witnesses to life made possible in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Together with Christmas, Holy Week and Easter are the holiest of days in our life together in Christ.
Last week I stated publicly my support for bishops who, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, decide “for a designated period of time . . . to cancel in-person gatherings for public worship.” I write now concerning the need to suspend in-person gatherings for public worship, in most contexts, during the sacred time of Holy Week and Easter Day. Because this is a global health crisis, the principles in this letter apply throughout The Episcopal Church, including beyond the United States.
On March 15th the Centers for Disease Control recommended the suspension of public gatherings in the U.S. of more than 50 people for the next 8 weeks. On March 16th officials of the federal government asked persons in the U.S. to “avoid gatherings of more than 10 people” for the next 15 days. It is reasonable to assume that some form of recommendations restricting public gatherings will continue for some time.
Considering this changing landscape, I believe that suspension of in-person public worship is generally the most prudent course of action at this time, even during Holy Week and on Easter Day. I am also mindful that local situations vary. Bishops must make this determination and the duration of said suspension in their respective dioceses, based on the public health situation in their context and the recommendations or requirements of government agencies and officials.
It is important to emphasize that suspension of in-person gatherings is not a suspension of worship. I very much encourage and support online worship.
In the Gospels, the teachings of Jesus about the way of love cluster during Holy Week and Easter (see John 13-17, Matthew 22:34-40). The primacy of love in the Gospels is given its fullest expression in the shadow of the cross. This way of unselfish, sacrificial love, the way of the cross, is the way of God and the way of life.
It is out of this love for our fellow humans, our neighbors, that we forego the blessing of being physically together for worship. In so doing we seek to promote health and healing needed at this time.
God bless you and keep the faith,
+Michael
The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church