Dear Friends,
As we complete six months dealing with the COVID-19 concerns and issues, I would like to point out that the purpose of the Church has never been clearer. We are to reach out in love and care for each other to help each other through this crisis that is before us.
There is a poem that I shared years ago, that has touched me greatly about how the Church is to function. It is by Ann Weems and is titled, “I’d Write For You a Rainbow.” It goes like this:
If I could, I’d write for you a rainbow
And splash it with all the colors of God
And hang it in the window of your being
So that each new God’s morning
Your eyes would open first
To Hope and Promise.
If I could, I’d wipe away your tears
And hold you close forever in shalom.
But God never promised
I could write a rainbow,
Never promised I could suffer for you,
Only promised I could love you.
That I do.
Early in the crisis, the rally cry was, “We are in this together.” May we realize the truth of that. In our fractured world, we can bring unity and hope. May we realize that this year has been hard but that is why God has put us together to deal with the hard. May we understand that doing this alone is not as God intended—God called us to be the body.
As such, God joined us together to be a support and comfort, an uplift and a fellow sojourner. May we move away from judgmentalism and toward compassion for each other. May we lean on each other for strength and support and guidance. And as we do so, we may not be able to write a rainbow, but we can provide hope and love and peace as we go through this together.
May we work together to lift those who are alone and those in need. May we demonstrate in our actions that we are grounded in grace, living in love and growing for God here at St. Andrew.
Your faithful servant, Pastor Mark