From the Rector – May 13, 2021
Dear friends,
![](https://www.our-redeemer.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/PXL_20210511_184309369-1-768x1024.jpg)
This piece of newsprint has been on my office wall for 13 months. It is the agenda for an emergency wardens meeting we had on March 12, 2020. As you can see, it has things we had to decide “now”, like having the Lenten retreat at Bethany House that weekend (as you can see, we decided yes at that meeting but it shortly became a no), things we have to do “soon” like figure out how to “video conference” worship (I had never heard of Zoom at that point) and things we could push off until “later” like deciding about our mission trip to St. Christopher’s Mission in Utah.
For some reason, I decided I was not going to take this newsprint down until we had in-person church again. Somehow it felt like taking it down would be symbolic that the pandemic was over and we could return to normal life. During the Sundays when I’ve been here at the church by myself, or with just our tech volunteer, the building has felt very quiet and not quite awake. Bulletins from March 2020 are still around, and the hymns on the hymn board are still from that week.
But this week, that is all changing! The newsprint on my wall is coming down. We may not yet be fully back to “normal” (whatever that is) and the pandemic is unfortunately not yet over. But spring is in the air, new life is here, and we are gathering for in-person worship at 10:30am (outdoors and with careful protocols) on Sunday, May 23 for the Feast of Pentecost. I could not be more excited! It will be wonderful to see many of you in person, and to be able to see you again on an ongoing basis every Sunday. We still will of course be offering the online service at 9:30am as well and it’s wonderful to connect with people there and at Zoom coffee hour as well.
Please see today’s announcements for more information on how to sign up for in-person worship. I look forward to seeing you, online or in person, soon.
Peace,
Kate