| For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. – Matthew 18:20 |
Friends and family of St. John’s, these past five weeks have been a Lenten season unlike many in most of our memories. We have engaged in a different kind of fast than those to which we are accustomed. We have fasted from one another. We have lived out our motto of “Act in love,” by keeping our distance to protect our family, our friends, our neighbors, and strangers near and far. And in this sometimes lonely, and sometimes surprisingly frenetic life of social distancing, we find ourselves waiting. Waiting in anxiety. Waiting in hope.
For many, our waiting is made harder by longings for connection, bridges between the islands of our lives. Saint John’s is one such avenue; a gathering place where love of and for God affords us something together that we do not find by ourselves. In its simplest manner, we are reminded every Sunday that God chose to share a meal with and among Jesus and his family and friends as a way to prepare us to love and serve one another. And so we say, “Let us keep the Feast.”
We are challenged today to “keep the feast” in new ways alongside the old. I was delighted to see many of your faces or hear your voices in Sunday services via “Zoom” these past three Sundays. Rev. Black has also led us through contemplative prayer on Wednesdays in like manner and established a phone tree to ensure we check in with one another. While perhaps none of these means can replace that feeling when we share God’s Peace in the pews, or catch up over coffee, they are gatherings. And in those gatherings, we feel the Presence. And we keep the Feast.
So in the weeks to come, however unorthodox it may be, I hope you will feel the truth that abides in a strange time: that there is a seat waiting for you, and only you at our table.
Finally, in that vein, please remember that Saint John’s still needs the gifts you bring to the table with you: your pledge, your prayer, the gift of who you are. We have established a way to receive pledges online, and of course, you are always welcome to mail your pledges to the Parish House or drop them through the mail slot if you are out for a walk. More importantly, I hope you will give us the gift of your time by joining us for our services online.
Waiting with you,
Doug Heim
Warden of Saint John’s