What did we do in July and August? We stayed healthy, we encouraged safety and we planned for ministry. Lay leaders met regularly to follow guidelines, follow the call of faith and plan for the future, including Re-Entry. Worship attendance was up for summertime (well — summertime worship is often modest) and we heard from great leaders including Bill Cordts, Liz Garrigan-Byerly, Wendy Donnell, Lynd Matt, Tony Rudié, Keirsten Lawton and Anna McMahan. Behind the leadership Misha Hill and Rich Bryden are hero worship technicians.
In the middle of the summer we gathered funds for a special refugee need. We’ve held two “Drive-By, Walk-By” events with about 24 folks visiting out of doors carefully and on August 23 Yevgenia led a moving organ concert indoors with 14 folks in the sanctuary. (Given our space and guidelines we can accommodate 35 – 40 well spaced and protected; we plan another concert on September 13th.)
What else did we do? We supported everyone staying safe, being careful and being wise. Wendy Donnell (you may know her from Camp NHCC) delivered ice cream to several families; let us know if you enjoy a Sunday Sundae. We made some building adaptations to care for our users (the Nursery and the Dancers, primarily) and we stayed in communication. Many of you may have received a phone call from a deacon or pastor as we work to stay in touch. We’ll continue that.
As the note above about the storm says, we know this will last a while. During any storm we endure and then we persevere and then, thank God, we triumph. This September we’re somewhere between endure and persevere. But every month we’re right in the thick of God’s presence and love, which makes triumph possible.