December 15, 2020
Friends in Christ,
This year has brought all sorts of changes to how we thought things were going to go. Some days it seems that just when I think I know how things are going to happen something changes those plans. I have decided that a good motto for 2020 would be Robbie Burns’ lines “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley”. The past week has been no exception.
Within the wider church there has been an on-going debate about the wisdom of meeting in-person for worship or only offering worship on-line. As COVID numbers in Alberta increased through November some of us were pondering that very question more and more intently. A week ago the Worship Team was asked to discuss it at our meeting scheduled for December 10th. Then the Premier made his announcement on December 8th, an announcement which added a bit of a twist to the discussion.
When the Worship Team met we, with heavy hearts, recommended to Council that the best way to be a faithful loving community at this time was to move all of our worship services on-line until the end of January. Council met on Saturday and after some discussion accepted that recommendation. We will re-evaluate at our January meeting to see if the time period needs to be extended. We are not doing this because we are required to, places of worship can continue to meet at 15% of their capacity (for us that is about 50 people). We are choosing to go above and beyond the requirements because it is, we believe, the way we live out Jesus’ commandment that we love our neighbour.
This is not the Christmas plan we thought we had. It is not the Christmas plan we wanted. It is, however, the Christmas reality that we have. Christmas worship will not involve a sanctuary full of people singing carols and passing the light of Christ from one to another. Instead it will be families gathered in front of a screen singing carols and sharing the old old story. In fact the silver lining to this particular cloud (they say every cloud has one) is that with online worship we can all join in the singing – something not possible when we gather for worship in person right now.
This means that all our worship services for the next month will be available on our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-aWw0Tc165vh6Epdr-XBxw (or search for “St. Paul’s United Church Grande Prairie”). Because we now have our new A/V equipment installed we can do this as a live-stream, with the video then remaining available for those who wish to worship later. We will still have choir members coming to sing hymns, with words on the screen so you can sing along at home. All the power point slides will be on screen so you can join in the responses. Hopefully it will be, as they say, the next best thing to actually being there. Or some might say better since this way you can come to church in your pyjamas, or bring a glass of eggnog to Christmas Eve worship. Again the YouTube link is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-aWw0Tc165vh6Epdr-XBxw .
As I continue to prepare the Christmas Eve service I have a request. Usually at this time of year when we gather together we share Christmas wishes with each other. Obviously we can’t do that this year. So I am asking people to send me a picture, or a short (5 second) video of themselves with a Christmas wish from your household to the rest of the congregation. These will be stitched together into a video that will be a part of our Christmas Eve worship. Please e-mail these to me by this Friday (December 18th) so I have time to make the video.
Earlier this year we realized that we were missing chances to connect with each other because we could not get together. One of the things we were missing was post church coffee. So we started meeting for coffee on Zoom Sundays at 11:30. We are still doing that. If you want connection information please contact the office and we will ensure you get it (that might be easier than trying to get all the information in this letter).
Another change over the next few weeks is that Carla and I will be working from home as much as possible, in keeping with the announced work from home mandate. This means that the office is closed to the public even if one of us happens to be in (there are some things we have to do at the church itself). The voice mail will be checked on a regular basis so feel free to leave a message or e-mail one of us and we will get back to you.
I am aware that the next 3 weeks is a time of year when many people either make their annual donation or look at their personal finances and realize they can give a bit more for the year. With the office closed there are still ways to make that happen. One way is by e-transfer . If you are unsure how to do an e-transfer please give Carla a call. She has gotten quite proficient at walking people through the process. Another on-line option is to use CanadaHelps (https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/36020). Or you could remain old school and either mail a cheque to the church or drop an envelope through the mail slot in the door. Any donations received by December 31st will be processed for this year’s tax receipts.
It can seem that this Christmas will be less merry that we wanted it. After everything else that has happened this year I think many of us really needed a time when we could get together and celebrate and support each other. That time will come. We just aren’t quite there yet. In that spirit I share with you these lyrics from the song “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” as sung by Judy Garland in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis”
Once
again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful
friends who are dear to us
Will be near to us once more
Someday
soon we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then
we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry
little Christmas now
The Christ Child will still be born, the angels will still sing, the shepherds will still marvel. Christmas is still there, it is just going to be very very different.
Because we follow God’s commandment to love each other we are doing things differently for awhile. We are physically distant now so we can be together again. We just have to muddle through this tough part of the journey – somehow.
Please join us for worship Sundays at 10:00. Please join us for worship on Christmas Eve (likely at 4:00 but we will share the time when it is confirmed). If you don’t join us “live” then you can join us later. Hold each other in love and have a Blessed Christmas and New Year. Once again that YouTube link is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-aWw0Tc165vh6Epdr-XBxw .
God’s
Peace, Hope, Joy and Love be with you,
Gord
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