Intellectually I understand why we are all staying away and it even makes sense to me, but I don't like it! I miss live communal worship at my local church! I did love the service streamed from the National Cathedral last Sunday, and I'm equally sure I'll enjoy the service from our Diocesan Cathedral later this Sunday morning March 22, 2020 11:00 AM Sunday Worship Service from Cathedral of the Incarnation, Baltimore. But what I miss at St. James' or St. Mark's on Sundays is seeing the faces I know very well, having all the familiar worship practices, and catching up with others at coffee hour after the service. In short, I miss my church family! But these are not normal times and I realize that I need to think beyond myself and my parish. So far, I am merely being inconvenienced. This is a pandemic and so, so many people are affected. Maybe I need to think about whether there are things, even if they are little things, I could do to help others.
I recognize that some good things have come from "social distancing" too! It gives me less time at work, and more with family at home, as well as more time to read and reflect, walk, work in my yard, talk with friends and family over the phone, time to go through the physical things that have been brought into our house over the last forty years and donate some. Some of my neighbors have started asking us to post drawings or photos in our front windows with a certain theme—this week was spring flowers and/or birds—so children could walk by individually and reflect on the different items they find and then share in our online neighborhood group. Others have started having a Friday night meeting at 8 pm on a specific street to sing a hopeful or familiar song (words sent ahead of time) while staying at least six feet apart! So staying mostly at home out of the hustle-bustle of ordinary life has been giving me a lot more time to reflect on what is really important and how blessed I am. God is with us wherever we are, not just in the buildings where we usually go on Sunday mornings.
These have been my rambling thoughts today. Won't you share yours?
Marjie Mack
