Hello –
I’ve had the pleasure of checking-in with a bunch of you via the good-old telephone these last couple of weeks, and while it’s wonderful to hear your voices, it’s just not the same!
But this is what we must live with for the foreseeable future and so we must make the best of it. Our Zoom and conference-call meetings are going well. On an average week, people from St. Paul’s are gathering in those virtual ways eight to ten times times. Many of us are staying connected.
But we can do better.
This week the Vestry got an email from a concerned parishioner who had been calling at least one other person regularly, but then listed 5 or 6 others that they were worried about. As it happened, I knew that several on that list were getting visits or calls, but how would the person who wrote the email know that?
This week, the RenewalWorks Group, with the help of the Vestry and others, came up with some super ideas to encourage all of us to “reach out and touch someone” with post cards and phone calls. Between now and the beginning of August, we’re going to be asking you to help us identify people you think would appreciate a call or a card, or even a distanced, mask-wearing visit, and help make sure that those connections happen.
And, in a way that is simple and easy to use, we’d like to begin tracking who has been reached and who we are still missing. We want to reach everyone, but we will need your help.
At this point, the Diocese has put outdoor worship on hold. We still hope to start our Courtyard Worship in September, but who knows? In the meantime, we want to make sure we stay connected to each other in the ways that are possible.
Stay tuned! When we ask, please let us know who you are concerned about, and then please chip in by giving calls and writing little cards. God made us to be social creatures, connected to one another in love. Even in pandemic, let us do our best to remember that we are brothers and sisters in Christ.
Two more things. First, this Sunday, please tune in to our distant 10am worship to meet our new seminarian, Peter S. Peter will be joining us this year as he prepares for ordination from the Diocese of Maryland. He goes to seminary in Berkeley at CDSP. Second, although I will be leading services the next two Sundays, I will be taking Monday through Saturday off to relax and take day trips. When I return to the office on the 28th, this in-reach in August effort will be my top priority.