March 25, 2021
Staying Hopeful, Moving Forward
3I thank my God every time I remember you, 4constantly praying with joy in eve-ry one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the de-fense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:3-8, NRSV
One day a few weeks ago I was working inside the church building I walked through the sanctuary. It was quiet, empty, and for whatever reason on that day and at that time, I realized how much I missed our meeting together inside the walls of 3534 Lakeshore Avenue. The words of Paul above reflect how I feel on some occasions when I am working at the church.
We continue to hold out hope and in that hope we start planning now for the time when we can meet in person. The members of the Education Department are working on preparing the places where our children will meet. Plans are al-so underway for Vacation Bible Camp and the church retreat. We cannot be “for sure” about any of these events but we can begin to make plans – which we are doing. Another hopeful sign is that many members of our congregation have been vaccinated and many have appointments for the same (my second shot is scheduled for April 9!). As we continue to move forward we need you to heed the call to ministry with our children, youth, and/or adults. So stay tuned and stay hopeful.
That being said, even as we continue to meet remotely, we are finding fellow-ship and connection in the weekly meetings. If you have not already done so, consider taking part in one of the bible studies and/or prayer groups that are meeting on a weekly basis (see list of weekly meetings inside this Transmitter). And in the words of more than one song, “God be with you ‘till we meet again (in person).”
Growing Together in Christ,
Pastor Carolyn