Good morning, church!
Did you see my perfectly timed April Fool’s Day joke to myself yesterday? I guess the good Lord instigated that one! Only after talking to folks at a conference meeting last night did I realize that nobody had received my daily email, and when I checked, I saw that I had sent it to my own address in the morning. Sweet! The joke is on me!
One theme kept coming back in my conversations and interactions with people yesterday: we are not in control of this. That theme is also one that Richard Rohr ponders in his daily meditation for today, and since he says is better than I could possibly say it, let me share two short paragraphs with you:
“To be in control of one’s destiny, job, or finances is nearly an unquestionable moral value in Western society. The popular phrase “take control of your life” even sounds mature and spiritual. It is the fundamental message of nearly every self-help book. On a practical level, it is true, but not on the big level. Our bodies, our souls, and especially our failures teach us this as we get older. We are clearly not in control, as this pandemic is now teaching the whole planet. It is amazing that we need to assert the obvious.” …
“For many of us, this may be the first time in our lives that we have felt so little control over our own destiny and the destiny of those we love. This lack of control initially feels like a loss, a humiliation, a stepping backward, an undesired vulnerability. However, recognizing our lack of control is a universal starting point for a serious spiritual walk towards wisdom and truth.”
Indeed, not being in control, not being able “to do something,” can be very frustrating and a number of people mentioned that yesterday, especially in the context of family members they are worried about. I imagine that is happening to a lot of people right now. I am now aware of a few people who have been exposed to THE infection, who have been tested or have family members who have been tested positive for the Coronavirus. Tom B. is a looong time member of St. Peter’s. I believe he is one of the few people in our current congregation who was baptized in church as a baby and has more or less lived in this town his entire life. He is a member of our choir and a wonderful individual. He lives in his grandfather’s old house in the borough and if you live there too, you may see him walking the dogs from time to time. Tom wrote this:
“You called while I was away and when I didn’t recognize the number in the caller ID, I didn’t answer my cell phone. I was in Riegelsville with my friend Len P. In the last two weeks, he has lost a sister to a heart attack and a brother to Covid19. The sister lived in Florida and the brother lived in rural NY on the Canadian border. Apparently Covid19 is EVERYWHERE. Len is understandably upset and I was helping him out.”
Tom and I talked afterward and apparently Len’s brother and sister were both in their upper 80’s. Thankfully, they lived a long life. But as I mentioned in my sermon last Sunday, grieving is one of the most difficult, awkward and unreal experiences to go through right now. So many funerals are postponed. And virtual services can never even be close to “the real thing.” We are after all social animals and there is nothing like love expressed through physical presence when you are upset and need comfort from loved ones. It is a very sad time for people losing a friend or family member during these weeks. We all should reach out to them however we can, whenever we are aware of something like that.
Our friend Steve M. is another person who was born and raised in our town and has been an active member of the community for a looong time. Steve identifies as a Quaker. He was raised in the Gwynedd Friends community across from the William Penn Inn. His father was a pharmacist in North Wales. Steve is most knowledgeable about the history of our town. Last fall he led a walkthrough North Wales with almost 40 people. It was a fascinating 90-minute walk and throughout the entire time, Steve was telling stories, some that he actually remembered from his childhood (that place over there, that used to be…), some that he knew from book knowledge. I believe he could have easily led us on a four-hour tour with material to spare. How did Steve, a Quaker, become part of our church family? It happened like it always happens, you know. Through connections and relationships, in this case, his friend Jean P. They had attended school together in North Wales. And once Steve got the feel of St. Peter’s, he kept coming back on Sunday mornings. He too is a wonderful person. Yesterday, he wrote this to me:
“Yesterday my brother apparently had another stoke. He has stage 4 cancer he has been battling for a long time. He is in no pain and immediate family is with him in-home hospice. You feel so helpless. I can’t go to Lancaster County to be with him. I would be pleased if you pray for Dave and his family. Dave’s wife Judy was a member of St. Peter’s many years ago and I think sometimes played the organ. Thank you for always being a wonderful good Shepard of your flock. Steve”
So for today, I encourage you to focus your prayers on the following… If you are worried about people in your family or circle of friends and perhaps have good reason to worry, please try to remind yourself, as difficult as that may be, that you are NOT in control and try to bring your worries to God and leave them in God’s hands. (“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7). If you are doing relatively fine, please focus your prayers on those in our community (like Len and Steve) who are worried or grieving or anxious, anyone you can think of. This notion that we are not in control is a much bigger lesson that we are being taught right now, but it still comes down to individual situations and how we handle them. God is here with you, in every situation, in every emotion.
The theme that we are NOT in control was echoed again last night when I talked to our St. Peter’s Global Outreach Team (SPOT). We had great and ambitious plans for this year, all good stuff, but much of that is on halt, like so many other things. We just had to say: we are not in charge here. We have to wait and see. It will all happen in God’s time.
A few other things:
Number One: We look forward to the Palm Sunday Service, virtually of course, and live-streamed via Facebook. After worship, there will be a safe handing out of palm branches drive-through style. The branches will only be touched by one person wearing gloves and handed to you. You should enter the parking lot via 2nd Street in the upper parking lot and exit on West Montgomery, on the lower end of the parking lot. A dinosaur will also be at hand to oversee the procedure. This will be from 11:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Number Two: Our Bible Study today is again at 12:00 noon. And once again we will do this via teleconference. Contact pastor for the call in number.
Number Three: For the month of March our income was down by about $ 3,500. We, of course, expected a financial impact resulting from no public worship services at church for most of the month. It could have been worse, frankly, but it could also have been better. We encourage all of you to do your part of financial stewardship by sending your donations via envelope/mail or online giving (easy to find on our website). In the greater scheme, I have absolutely no doubt that we will pull through this together.
May the Lord bless you and keep you;
May the Lord shine his light upon you
And be gracious to you;
May the Lord look upon you with favor
And grant you peace!
Pastor Andreas Wagner