Good morning, church!
I was very pleased with the peaceful protest that took place yesterday at noon in the heart of our little town, at Weingartner Park. I am especially proud of the young families that took civic responsibility and organized the event. It was attended by several hundred people – masked, distanced, behaved, listening to the speeches of several community members. It was more a show of unity in support of human rights than it was a traditional protest. There were people carrying signs and slogans, but many more were just there to listen and show their respect to George Floyd in a kneeling ceremony of almost nine minutes, which felt very, very long, as it should. I am attaching my speech to this email, in case you are interested and didn’t have a chance to attend. About seven people spoke yesterday, most of them “regular” people from North Wales, including Dan Jacques, a young African-American man who grew up in town. Democracy was alive and well yesterday!
I received some nice responses to yesterday’s service and co-production with Bethlehem Baptist Church. Someone who visits our church occasionally wrote: “Thank you for a wonderful service. At first the music and then the rousing inspirational message from Pastor Quann moved me deeply. It is all too easy in these times to “hunker down” and live in the privilege of peaceful isolation… thanks for providing this way to be more connected.” Maggie H., one of my former confirmation students, responded from Michigan, “Hello Pastor Wagner, I had the chance to watch your service this morning and was very moved by it, especially the sermon given by Pastor Quann. This is a time when all of us born with privilege due to the color of our skin need to take the time to listen to our black brothers and sisters. I very much appreciate that you tailored this Sunday’s service to do just that. We are being called to come together in God’s love, and I felt very proud to have had the upbringing I had at St. Peter‘s during this historic time.”
Here at St. Peter’s there is a pretty busy week ahead of us. Later today, we have our Red Cross Blood Drive with a full slate of donors, which Diana said never happened before. That’s pretty amazing! I am meeting this morning with the children of Bill Kane Sr. who died over the weekend. On Tuesday I am meeting via Zoom with the leaders of our AA groups. Council is considering allowing them to meet in the Fellowship Hall in small groups with the usual safety measures in place that we have gotten used to since the beginning of social distancing rules in March. A lot of school children are finishing their school year this week. We are preparing for a youth-led church service that will also honor our graduates. Out re-opening document and council’s plan now that we are in the Yellow Phase was delayed by some additional last-minute concerns. It will come out soon and nothing in terms of church services will re-open until at least July 5. We hope you enjoy our recordings. A lot of time, effort, and creative thinking goes into it from staff and volunteers.
Please do not forget that we are resuming our weekly food drive! Every Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. you can bring food donations for Manna on Main Street. It usually goes directly on Lisa’s truck or the truck of another volunteer. There are always signs that you can’t miss.
Mrs. B’s Children’s Hour will take place every Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., starting this week on June 10. We encourage our families with young children to take advantage of this interactive program and to tell your neighbors with children about it.
Today is the birthday of Tyler T. He is also graduating from North Penn High. Happy birthday, Tyler!
As always, be blessed and be safe! Pastor Andreas Wagner