Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

September 2021

Dear Saints,

I want to thank all of you who have been working hard to support and sustain the mission and ministry of the church over these past few months, especially in the heat!

I also want to thank you for your prayers, concern and messages of care and support before and during my vacation and study leave. It was a very life-giving and refreshing time away. Of the many things I learned including how important rest and laughter is, I was reminded of 2 important lessons that I’d like us to think about and embrace as we find our way forward.

#1 “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” Perhaps you read that book when it came out a number of years ago, but it bears repeating, especially now. When I was traveling on study leave, I found that I was still carrying an edge. I brought with me the anxiety that I have been carrying for 18 months and was worrying about even about smallest of things. I never used to be that way. I think, for me at least, it has become one of the biproducts from leading a church in and through the pandemic, where everything we had built and relied upon, had to be revamped, up dated or sidelined. Yet, some of these changes have come with new side-benefits, like upgraded technology that makes worship accessible to all. Some of these changes are temporary. Like singing with masks, distancing in the pews and worshipping from home. And…I know you join me in looking forward to someday leaving behind those ‘delicious’ communion cups and wafers!

Friends, when we are anxious about the small stuff, we rob ourselves of the joy of the moment, and we are not fully present to others, God or even ourselves.

That leads me Lesson #2: Focus on what you CAN control, not what you can’t. I’m sure many of you will agree that we learned a great deal about ourselves since the pandemic began and not all of it was pretty. Feeling out of control is something we all experienced but it’s the WAY we handle that feeling is what really matters. There’s only so much we can control, but if we learn resilience in times of strain, it will make all the difference. Psychologists call this the skill of ‘surfing the waves as opposed to being caught in the undertow’. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it is crucial that we work on these two things as we move into the Fall and figure how to “do church” with our current limitations. Not everything we have tried or will try will work, but we have the resources within this congregation to be clever, creative and develop new solutions to our current challenges. I am committing to that, and I hope you will be too.

There are a number of places in our ministry that need our attention, most especially Christian Ed, at all ages/stage. Please be part of the conversation to help us re-think and re-form a crucial part of ministry that was hit hard by Covid. I know many of you are watching other church services on-line, in addition to ours. Tell us what you’re seeing that might be a help to THIS ministry. Tell us what you’re hearing, what you’d like to see us do next to strengthen the bonds that have been stretched and stressed because of being apart.

Lastly, please prayerfully consider returning to in-person worship. While some of you may need more time to feel comfortable, some of you may need a little nudge. You should know that you matter, and you are missed.

Hope to “See you in September”

Seeking the future WITH you,

Rev Jen