March 15, 2020: Church in the time of coronavirus, part 1

We met for worship service in person this morning, although it was a much smaller crowd than usual.  A link to my sermon and prayers of the people are attached.  In my message I remarked how Jesus was one to bring wholeness to people through connecting with them, but that it was the spiritual connection that was most important.  In these times connection is even more important, as people face challenges and anxieties we only imagined a few weeks ago, but just because we are not meeting as much physically, doesn’t mean we cannot connect together spiritually.  Write a letter, make a phone call, send a card — connecting with others helps them, and it helps us.

sermon031520

One of the hymns we sang was “We Yearn, O Christ, for Wholeness” (tune by Hans Leo Hassler, words by Dosia Carlson, from The New Century Hymnal; I thought I’d share some of the words, which you may find as blessing as those who sang them this morning.

“We yearn, O Christ, for wholeness and for your healing touch; too long have we felt helpless; our burdens seemed too much. Forgetting all pretenses we make our pleadings heard, in hope and expectation await your gracious word.

We long to have companions who travel by our side, strong friends to call and answer with whom we are allied; as we lift up each other when struggles lay us low, community develops; our faith and caring grow.

We need your living presence, O Christ of Galilee, a presence that revives us and sets our spirits free. No longer are we fearful, your love pervades each place. Empower us with courage to claim your healing grace.”

Blessings,

Pastor Leslie