Dear Siblings in Christ: Today at noon, is our weekly call about pastoral care in this strange moment (you can join using this information: Click on this link – https://meetings.ringcentral.com/j/8278690536 or call 773-231-9226 and use Meeting ID: 827 869 0536). Since our very first conversation, those who gathered recognized that this period of social distancing would be hard for everyone at points and be particularly hard for those already facing a sense of isolation. Many churches and church members have begun to put together systems to reach out to those members of their congregation and community who might otherwise be … Continue reading 3-25-2020 COVID-19 PNC Update

Dear Siblings in Christ: This Sunday’s text from John feels a little too real and a little too magical for these days. I always struggle with these death-but-not-death stories of resurrection; these stories in which to make some alive again and leave others dead is a divine choice. Surely, as Jesus journeyed to Bethany, he and his entourage passed other families in mourning because of the death of a loved one or in anxiety due to illness in their home or sleepless because of economic distress or lonely or isolated or… The world is full of suffering and yet Jesus … Continue reading 3-23-2020 COVID-19 PNC Update

Blessings on all who worship this morning. Blessings on those who share the word and those who receive it. Blessings on those who share music and silence. Blessings on all those who helped plan the service. Blessings on those who help make the internet and phone connections function. Blessings on those who designed them and the software we use. Blessings on those who keep the power flowing to our homes. As we gather today in whatever numbers we gather we are supported by a cast of thousands. Blessings on them as we are blessed by being together. Continue reading In a few hours…

Dear Siblings in Christ: Take a deep breath, let it out slowly. Take another deep breath, and let it out slowly. This update will be a longer than usual one. Please do read the whole thing. It has a lot in it you’ll want to know.  The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. We’ve moved from making plans in case something happened to social distancing to changing the way we do and think about, well, everything in a matter of days. Time itself feels all mixed up. We’ve had to work to adapt to a new reality at an … Continue reading 3-21-2020 COVID-19 PNC Update

Dear Siblings in Christ: This week’s lectionary text from the Gospels (John 9:1-41) seems strangely ironic. Jesus encounters someone who is blind from birth. Jesus’ disciples get into a conversation about the person and assume – as most would have at the time – that their blindness is somehow related to a sin they or their parents committed. Jesus suggests that, actually, the blindness is all so God’s abilities can be shown. So, Jesus spits in the dirt, makes it into mud, spreads the mud on the blind person’s eyes, tells them to wash it off, and they can see. … Continue reading 3-18-2020 COVID-19 PNC Update

Dear Siblings in Christ: These words have become part of my daily readings these days: “The possibility of paradise hovers on the cusp of coming into being, so much so that it takes powerful forces to keep such a paradise at bay. If paradise now arises in hell, it’s because in the suspension of the usual order and the failure of most systems, we are free to live and act another way.” Solnit, Rebecca. A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster. Penguin Books, 2010 The title really tells you most of what this book is … Continue reading 3-16-2020 COVID-19 PNC Update

Dear Siblings in Christ: Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Go ahead and do it again. We’re at another one of those key moments in the COVID-19 pandemic. Minutes ago the Governor of Washington State closed all schools in the state until, at least, April 24th.  This was done not just to protect the children at our schools but because there was a high risk that those who work with and attend our schools would spread the COVID-19 virus to their families and communities. I think the most prudent thing for us to do, whether or not … Continue reading 3-13-2020 COVID-19 PNC Update