April 28, 2021

I had two conversations recently that touched on community – specifically community in the Church.

What makes a group of people a community? Various things factor into that: a shared vision, a shared ideal, a shared purpose, shared likes and/or dislikes, shared colors. These are all things that can create a sense of community. People who gather at a specific time to feed the hungry develop a sense of community as they work together. People working toward the election of a particular candidate can develop a sense of community. And, believe it or not, a sense of community is one of the reasons people become, and stay, involved in gangs.

Here at Saint John's, and other churches as well, we have a community of people who are drawn to our liturgy, who work together on any number of service and outreach projects, and who have developed friendships with people as we work, pray, and give for God's mission in this part of the world.

One of the things people have said they missed most during the COVID pandemic is that sense of community, that ability to gather together. As you know, we have done a variety of things to keep us all connected and maintain community; phone calls and notes have been at the top of that list, but also through other means.

One way we worked at community was to encourage people watching the online service to make comments. In the beginning, as Dcn. Sue, Mark, David, the lector, cantors, and I were waiting for the service to officially begin, it made me very happy to see everyone showing up and saying, “Hi.” Seeing people like Gary and Iris from West Virginia, Karen from New York, Jack and Betty from Pennsylvania, and so many others from so many different places, reminded me that we were still community. Reading prayer requests and thanksgivings that you sent in reminded all of us that we are still community. Seeing everyone type, “Peace” at the appropriate time brought/brings a smile to my face and reminds us that we are still community.

The past year has seen us changed by COVID, some of that change even for the better. One of the better things to come out of this pandemic season was the recognition that going to church is not just a personal choice. We have recognized what we've always known: the community of the faithful is a powerful thing and we are reminded of the power of community when we find ways to remain connected.

As attendance restrictions begin to be loosened, and as more people begin to again worship in the holy space we call Saint John's, may we remember that not all of our community sits in the pews. For those worshiping outside of our space, I encourage you to continue sending prayers, thanksgivings, and adding comments during the live stream. For those of you who are sitting in the pews, remember that the community is bigger than just those in the building; and so I encourage you to offer similar prayers, thanksgivings, and other comments.

Remember: it will be the gathered comments of those separated that will help us maintain community.

Blessings,

Todd+

April 21, 2021

“We are all visitors now” – Someone Somewhere

I ran across this quote in some Episcopal news article somewhere. I can't remember if it was Episcopal News Service, Vestry Papers, the Episcopal Church Foundation, or somewhere else. Ultimately it doesn't matter, because what this person said is accurate.

As we begin the slow process of coming together again in our various churches (Saint John's for most of us, but other houses of worship in Hagerstown and around the country and world), we are returning as visitors to places we haven't been to for some time. Over the course of the pandemic we have all experienced any number of changes in our lives. Those changes make us different than we were before the pandemic started.

As we come back, let us treat each other as if we are all visitors.

Ask meaningful questions. Don't assume everyone knows how we are operating in this pandemic era, but offer to help direct people in the right direction. Wear your name tag. Introduce yourself to someone you a) don't know, or b) looks familiar but you can't quite remember their name. Wear your name tag. Ask yourself, “If I were new here, what would I want to know?” and then make sure you know the answer. Wear your name tag. When talking with a person after service, invite someone else into your conversation. And don't forget to wear your name tag.

Saint John's has a reputation for being a welcoming parish. This not only includes the experience of Joelene and myself as we were interviewing here, but it includes the testimonials of many parishioners as they tell of their first time here.

The danger, though, is that we fall into the trap of thinking we are a welcoming parish without actually doing any welcoming. We are especially vulnerable to this as most of us simply want to return to some sense of normalcy. But let us not forget . . . “normal” for us before the pandemic was to be welcoming.

We are all visitors now. Let's not forget to treat the visitor to Saint John's as the visitor in us would like to be treated.

Blessings,

April 14, 2021

“All change brings loss” – The Rev. Joanna White, Canon for Pastoral Services

Mtr. White gave a reflection on grief during the clergy Zoom meeting last week. Out of everything she said, this caught my attention the most, probably because she followed that up by saying, “Not all loss is negative.”

We tend to think of loss from change in negative terms. The company changed direction and I've lost my job. Mom's health changed and I've lost my mother. COVID changed how we've always done things and I've lost my friends, community, job, home, health, sanity, etc.

And while all change brings loss, not all loss is negative. I've changed my eating habits and lost weight. The doctors changed my medication and I've lost my pain. I've changed jobs and I lost a toxic work environment.

But more often than not, change and loss are never so black and white. It's all a mixture of gray. I changed jobs and lost familiar surroundings and close contacts with friends and family, but that was balanced out by having a good work environment and being surrounded by new friends and new places to explore. COVID changed how we did things causing a loss of the familiar and comfortable, but that's been balanced out by new learning, new skills and new opportunities. Even the change from online-only worship services back to in-person has both negative and positive issues we must address.

We are (hopefully) coming out of the COVID pandemic. “Coming out of” doesn't mean “free and clear.” We still need to pay attention. We still need to be careful. We still need to wear masks, watch our distancing, get vaccinated, and take other precautions. This journey has forced us to change in ways we would not have ever dreamed about on February 15, 2020.

That change has brought an incredible amount of loss, probably overwhelmingly negative, but some of it positive. So as we begin to come out of the pandemic I hope you are able to find areas that could be termed 'positive loss' in your lives and think on those things for a bit. As we begin to come out of the pandemic, I hope you are able to see opportunities for new growth, new ways of doing things, and new places of joy.

All change brings loss, but not all loss is negative. I encourage you to find those areas of positive loss and allow yourself a moment of enjoyment in what has been a rough year.

Blessings,

Todd+