One Crazy Year

The weather is warming. The birds are returning. Spring is on its way. And we can finally see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

And yet, we are still dealing with the pandemic. We still have to be careful even though more and more of us are getting vaccinated. We still watch the numbers and the news making sure we are aware of the variants and how they are progressing through the world too. As I write this, our nation is approaching the mark of 500,000 deaths. It is a rare person who doesn’t know someone who has lost a loved one (or several) to this virus. The effects of the pandemic are long-term for us.

March 14 will be almost a year from when we had our last worship services before the schools and many businesses shut down. On that Sunday, we will hold an observance at all of our worship services to grieve, remember, honor and commemorate this one-year mark in our journey through the pandemic. You will have the opportunity to light candles to mark your own journey. And we will have special prayers for all of the people who have had to adjust, isolate, shift, work harder or who are no longer working. 

Rituals are important ways of helping us heal. A ritual can mark significant events (good and bad), so that we can process and honor the challenges we might be facing. This ritual is an offering of our prayers to God for all of the good and bad, joyful and hard, wonderful and heartbreaking aspects of the journey of this past year. 

We hope you will be able to join us at any of the three churches that morning or online. Our March 14th schedule will be:

·      8:30 am at Walle (and online)

·      9:00 am at Evanger

·      10:30 am at St. Mark’s

I am grateful to be in this journey with you. We mark this event together, because that’s how we do this crazy, uncertain life of ours.