What Do You Miss?
3 November 2021
What do you miss?
John 21.25 declares, “if every one of (the things Jesus did) were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” The same might be said for the list of things we’ve MISSED during the Covid pandemic!
But good news has arrived! How wonderful it was last Sunday to announce that COS leadership moved us to a “masks optional” protocol for all those vaccinated. For the first time in months and months, many folks were able to see each other smile! Here is the official statement from council and staff:
“Council and staff recognize the recent positive reporting that Fayette & Coweta counties both have fallen to the “moderate transmission category” regarding Covid 19. Therefore, following our schools’ lead, COS leadership is able to shift our policy. Based on current data, “mandatory masks if you are not vaccinated and masks optional if you are vaccinated” for worship at COS. We rejoice that Fayette County has the second-highest vaccination rate in the state at 64% and we encourage all our faith families to take advantage of first-round and booster-round vaccinations as available. We also delight that vaccination options for our children seem close at hand. COS leadership pledges ongoing monitoring of health realities (thanks to Mary Brunso) and will strive to make wise and faithful decisions accordingly. We ask for your continued prayers and communication.”
More good news! We’ve asked our worship design teams to re-introduce some parts of the services that we’ve missed during the troubled days of the pandemic. Initial protocols from the CDC and our ELCA leaders suggested that if people were gathering inside for worship, it was wise to keep that indoor time as brief as possible. So COS, as with many congregations, focused on the basics of Word and Sacrament to keep the service moving. (Actually, we count our blessings at COS, because we were able to come back to live Sanctuary worship far sooner than the majority of ELCA congregations, many of whom struggled with only Zoom worship).
But with improved virus data, we feel more comfortable staying longer indoors for worship. So we’re ready to enjoy once more some additional aspects of our worship flow. Our worship leaders might not be able to revert completely to exactly “the way we’ve always done it before.” But you certainly will be able to notice some positive changes along the way, especially with traditional worship. We rejoice!
In Christ’s hope,
Pastor Fritz
Let us pray:
Dear God, thanks that the data trends in our neck of the woods are improving in terms of the pandemic. Please guide us to keep making positive decisions so that our communities may continue to embrace the fullness of life you’ve designed for us. This includes our worship lives, we pray, O Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
