A Word from the Pastors | Zonked but Still Moving Forward
L Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
L He who came to save us…
C is risen and ascended!
L He who bled and died…
C is crowned with glory at the Father’s side!
L He who conquered Satan, sin, and death…
C will come again to judge the living and the dead!
L Death, despair, and the devil don’t have the last word.
C We are EASTER people, always rising!
L Oh, let stones be moved and tombs burst open…
let weeping turn to laughing and sorrow turn to joy…
let death turn to life and fear turn to faith…
let uncertainty turn to assurance and hesitation turn to proclamation…
let there be a real way out of no way, and hope when hope is gone…
and let the Church wait and pray, be fueled and fired up, be sent and go, show and tell this:
C Christ is risen! Christ is alive! HALLELUJAH!
Thursday, May 21 was the day, but only this particular year, that the Church remembered the Ascension of Our Lord. The date for this in the church liturgical calendar depends on the date of Easter, so it is not always the same month or numerical day of the month each year. But it is always on the 40th day of Easter… it is always on the Thursday between the Sixth Sunday of Easter and the Seventh Sunday of Easter… and it is always 10 days before the Day of Pentecost. After Jesus disappeared up into the sky, the followers of Jesus waited, wondered, hoped, and prayed. They didn’t really know what to expect. Ten days later they were suddenly transformed by the Holy Spirit and unexpectedly exploded into a community of love and mission. Jesus died and rose again for our salvation. His ascension released the power of God to make our hearts strong with love, bold with praise, and eager to proclaim God’s Son to the ends of the earth. Every Christian shares in Christ’s ministry and bears the good news of God’s love. Let’s keep on practicing and trying our best – with words and deeds, with patience and compassion.
ZOOM was zonked… but we’re ready to zoom again!
Last Sunday, May 17, our Zoom Worship – as well as so many other worship services, meetings, and gatherings scheduled across the face of the globe – was disabled by some sort of widespread outage. We will try again this Sunday morning, with Zoom Worship beginning at 10:00 AM. This Sunday, the Seventh Sunday of Easter, our preacher will be our church member, the Rev. Robert Holum.
On Sunday, May 31 our preacher will be our church member, the Rev. Clesha Staten. May 31 is Pentecost Sunday, and we invite you to follow our tradition, started years ago, of wearing bright red, yellow, orange, or even hot pink clothes that morning (symbolizing the Holy Spirit that fired, filled, fueled, and poured out of those 120 gathered believers when the Church was born)… even if you are the only one to know what you are wearing! And we are also asking you to have a small candle and matches on May 31 (only if you are able to do this safely) so that we might light our candles and remember the story of “tongues of fire” resting above each of the 120 believers on that first Pentecost.
Members and friends of St. Peter’s will remember that for many years unless the weather was too wet, we celebrated this day with outdoor festive Worship followed by an indoor Picnic and some street games and activities. Last spring Pastor David Maddox II was our guest preacher…last spring the burgers and hot sausages were sizzling and the breeze was refreshing… last spring the water balloons were flying around outside… last spring kids were “blown up” to sumo wrestler size by inflated outfits and were bouncing into each other… and last spring the shared food and fellowship were the usual treasured blessing. Not this year. But we still will be able to celebrate the birth of the Church as we gather together in spirit! Unless Zoom zonks us.
Anniversary Banquet also zonked.
On Saturday, May 30 we would have gathered at the Brossman Center of the United Lutheran Seminary, Philadelphia Campus, to celebrate our 90th Anniversary as St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. This event is another casualty of our pandemic times. In the future we may reschedule some sort of anniversary celebration, but perhaps as an event held here at St. Peter’s.
Back to WHAT and WHEN?
People all across the earth are hopeful and prayerful that the dreadful reach of COVID-19 is lessening. So much has changed in our own lives and in our world, and nobody seems all that certain about the present and future medical danger, how fast to “re-open” our lives and how close we can return to the “old normal” we remember from just several months ago. Many folks are eager, hopeful, even prayerful. Some are desperate and worried, not only about physical health but mental and emotional health, financial survival, friends, and relatives. Some are still in denial that there really is a pandemic or that people are really suffering and dying. Some are angry. Some are political. It’s difficult to watch and ponder some televised rallies with unmasked (i.e. unprotected), heavily armed, angry, people waving Confederate or Nazi flags, bearing a lynching noose, and shouting “U-S-A!” or various political slogans. It’s probable that COVID-19 isn’t going to hear or respond to such a protest. And it’s confusing to hear some officials who have set safety guidelines ignore those same guidelines or even criticize them as “anti-liberation”. Isn’t our war actually against a disease which, as Dr. Anthony Fauci has suggested, sets its own timeline? Are these protests about health, either medical or economic or are they about hate? And why would there be death threats against Dr. Fauci?
Your elected Church Council that leads and serves St. Peter’s will be meeting soon to begin to talk about the “What” and “When” of re-opening. We have previously mentioned that there are various guidelines from various sources for religious institutions to consider. Our pledge as Co-pastors of St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church is to do our very best to listen to all the guidelines, to reflect carefully, and to pray earnestly as we and the Church Council determine what steps to take and when into a transformed future. Some faith communities are perhaps trying to move too fast. One pastor has asserted that God told him personally that COVID-19 is completely over. We also remember that pastor in Virginia who had claimed that God was protecting all Christians from this disease… he and his wife died from it within days of each other.
The summer of 2020 will definitely be different. May you continue to think right, say right, do right, and be right. God has gifted you with love and with life, with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We are children of God. We are family. We are Christ’s Body. Lord, give us the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge we need in our waiting. Lord, give us the courage, the boldness, and the love we need in our telling of your story.
Pastor Neil & Pastor Gwen