Hungry

There is so much for which the world hungers today – more justice, more peace…more connection…more care…and…also more food, quite literally. We know that as hard as times have been, they are likely to get harder as the buffers that have blunted some of the economic impacts of the pandemic fade away.

So, we look forward to the upcoming donation drive(thru) on July 26 to help our neighbors be fed. And we hope if there are ways we can help care for one another, we can reach out and ask and share as a community.

Our hungers are emotional and spiritual, too. And, we have had some long deliberation about how we can best meet the spiritual hungers of this time, while also keeping everyone as safe as possible. We know we won’t be able to gather in person until at least August 16…and even then…our Sunday worship is likely to wait longer…as that is the gathering in our community that comes with the highest risks.

As we must continue to wait to fill our hunger for each other’s physical presence, we believe that we can faithfully meet our spiritual hunger for the sacrament of Holy Communion. This is unchartered water – the thought of sharing the sacramental meal in a community dispersed over wide distances. But we trust that when we worship we are one gathered body…distance notwithstanding…and that we can receive the nourishment of Christ’s body and blood in that gathering…and that he can be as Truly Present as he is when we gather at 10625 N FM 620.

When it comes to the church’s ritual life, we don’t innovate without deliberation and deep respect for the strong foundation of history and tradition that has brought the church to this moment. But in this moment of hunger, we do believe God can be with us through means that were not imaginable to our ancestors in faith. 

We will share communion through online worship on August 2. More details will be shared about the what and how and when in the coming weeks. We will do our utmost to make sure everyone has what they need wherever they are to be included and ready and reverent. But in the mean time, I invite you to receive the comfort of the word that nourishment is coming – both in this form and in many others we perhaps never expected.

It is a hungry time. And our God is a prodigal sower of seeds…God loves nothing more than to set a feast…even in the midst of adversity. Maybe especially in the midst of adversity. God wants nothing more than for all the world to be clothed and fed. May we live as heirs of that promise…and co-workers in making it come true.

In Peace,

Pastor Carolyn